The Spiritual Pivot of Mortal Cultivation

The night rain entered the mountains, fine and dense like silk.

The disciples' quarters on the back mountain were already secluded, and at this hour, all was even more silent. Only the water accumulated on the eaves dripped down the broken tiles, striking the stone steps and the muddy ground with a very soft patter. The wind blew from the depths of the forest, carrying dampness and chill, causing the dim light inside the house to flicker.

Bai Xuanxin sat alone at his desk, with two handwritten martial arts manuals spread out beside him.

One book, "Luo Yan Bu" (The Steps of Luo Yan), and another book, "Da Qin Na Shou" (The Great Capturing Hand).

The candlelight cast flickering shadows on the pages. Bai Xuanxin didn't rush to copy down the text; instead, she lightly tapped the table with her knuckles, her gaze fixed on the few lines of densely packed small characters, but her mind had already turned to the details of her training during the day.

In the first three turns of "Luo Yan Bu", the left ankle was still a little too hasty in using the momentum.

This sudden movement might not be noticeable to the average person, but it poses a real hazard to oneself. The outer ankle is inherently agile but unstable. If one rushes forward with a step, the force is first applied to the outer edge of the ankle, causing the Qi of the Foot Shaoyang Meridian to rise as well. This can result in mild soreness and swelling on the side of the ankle, or even a feeling of weakness in the leg. From a musculoskeletal perspective, it means that the delicate ligaments between the talus and fibula are subjected to excessive lateral force. With repeated use of this technique, it will inevitably lead to injury sooner or later.

As for the "reverse twist and wrist grab" technique in "The Great Capturing Hand," he had a good grasp of it, but when it came to actually applying it, he was still a bit lacking in skill.

The original text describes the technique of "grabbing the wrist" very simply: seize the opponent's wrist bone, use the momentum to twist it, and force them to lose strength through pain. However, what Bai Xuanxin values ​​is not the word "pain," but the word "dispersion." The wrist is only a small area, but it involves the strength of the entire forearm. If one can first control the base of the thumb, causing the tiger's mouth to loosen, and then press down on the ulnar side, forcing the wrist bone to deviate to the most unfavorable direction, one can disrupt the axis of their power generation. In traditional Chinese medicine, this means that the acupoints around Yangchi and Yangxi are controlled, and the strength of the Hand Shaoyang and Hand Yangming meridians is immediately dispersed; from the perspective of musculoskeletal anatomy, it means that once the radial and ulnar wrist pivots are lost, the forearm's pronation and supination power will immediately collapse.

He understands these principles.

Understanding is one thing, practicing is another. Putting knowledge into practice is never easy.

When you're really in the line of fire, between life and death, whether you can pinpoint the landing point in an instant and use that little bit of "effort-saving" technique depends not on how clearly you think about it in your mind, but on how your muscles, skin, joints, and veins have already memorized it beforehand.

Thinking of this, Bai Xuan raised his hand and gently closed the book. Just as he was about to go to the table to pick up the wooden stake and try his hand at it again, a very light footstep suddenly came from the corridor outside the door.

The sound was so faint it was almost drowned out by the rain, yet it wasn't entirely without a trace.

The newcomer's steps were extremely steady, clearly indicating that he had practiced agility techniques; however, there was also a very subtle limpness in that steadiness, as if he was holding his breath but had some hidden injuries underneath, and dared not put all his strength into practice.

Bai Xuanxin's eyes flickered slightly, and she had already guessed who it was.

He didn't say anything, but put the two handwritten books on the table into his sleeve before getting up to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, a cold wind carrying dampness rushed in.

A man stood outside the door, wearing a straw raincoat with his hat pulled low, his shoulders darkened by the night rain. Even though half of the man's face was hidden in shadow, Bai Xuanxin recognized him at a glance.

Li Feiyu.

Bai Xuanxin glanced at him only once before stepping aside.

"Come in."

Li Feiyu didn't stand on ceremony and stepped into the house. Water dripped from his raincoat, forming a small, dark water stain by the door. After Bai Xuanxin closed the door again, most of the wind and rain inside was shut out, leaving only the flickering lamplight, which made their expressions indistinct.

Bai Xuanxin didn't ask first, but took a rough earthenware bowl, poured half a bowl of hot water into it, and pushed it to the side of the table.

"sit."

Li Feiyu did not sit down, but stood by the table, looking at the half-bowl of hot water. He remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"I've remembered what you said that day."

The voice remained cold, devoid of any gratitude, and sounded more like a statement of a fact unrelated to himself.

Bai Xuanxin hummed in agreement, signaling him to continue.

"These past two nights, I've reduced my sword strike by a third." Li Feiyu raised his eyes, his gaze fixed directly on Bai Xuanxin's face. "When it flared up, it was indeed less intense. So I've come to ask—how much exactly did you discern?"

After he said that, the room fell silent.

Li Feiyu's eyes remained cold, but that coldness no longer merely conveyed a sense of distance; it also carried a hint of probing and defensiveness. Like a sharp blade hanging precariously, its edge yet to be revealed, its chill already reaching the heart.

Bai Xuanxin was not surprised.

If Li Feiyu were truly the type to be grateful for a few words of advice, he wouldn't have reached this level of skill with his sword.

Bai Xuanxin sat down at the table, her gaze falling flatly on him.

"I can see what I need to see." His tone was neither loud nor soft. "This isn't an illness; you're risking your life for a knife."

Upon hearing this, Li Feiyu's lips twitched slightly, a half-smile that was as cold as ice.

"If life is worthless, a sharper knife won't matter."

Bai Xuanxin glanced at him, her expression unchanged.

"If your life weren't worth anything, you wouldn't have come looking for me tonight."

As these words fell, Li Feiyu's grip on the knife tightened slightly, the veins on his hand bulging. But he didn't react in the end, only staring at Bai Xuanxin, his gaze growing even more intense.

Bai Xuanxin didn't argue with him about who was right or wrong. She simply said calmly, "If you didn't trust people, you wouldn't have come tonight. If you truly didn't care about your life, you wouldn't have listened to me and gone to retract that three-tenths of your sword's power."

Upon hearing this, Li Feiyu remained silent for a moment before coldly saying, "You seem to understand me quite well."

"I don't understand you," Bai Xuan thought to himself. "I only understand pain."

He spoke calmly, but Li Feiyu remained standing there, showing no sign of relaxing.

Bai Xuanxin looked at him, her gaze falling slightly, and she had already roughly seen his situation tonight.

Li Feiyu's face was paler tonight than it had been a few days ago, though a faint flush lingered at the corners of his lips. The lingering resentment between his brows and the faint dark circles under his eyes clearly indicated a poor night's rest. Most importantly, although he stood ramrod straight, his right shoulder was slightly heavier than his left, and his wrist, holding the knife, felt extremely weak. This wasn't simply from the strain of sword practice; rather, it was the result of long-term use of medicinal drugs, which had severely damaged his internal organs, causing even his muscles and bones to falter.

Bai Xuanxin withdrew her gaze and slowly spoke:

"Your injury, on the surface, seems to be caused by practicing the sword too hastily, but the root cause is not the sword itself, but the medicinal power that has been constantly stimulating your vital energy over the years. It first forces you to be vigorous, then forces you to exert force, and finally gnaws into your bones inch by inch from your internal organs. At first, it was just a feeling of heat and tightness in your chest after practicing the sword, but later it gradually manifested in your waist and abdomen, and then even your bones felt cold. Recently, I'm afraid that you sometimes feel a slight emptiness when you hold the sword, but you retract it quickly, so others can't see it."

Li Feiyu's expression finally changed.

He stared at Bai Xuanxin, the chill in his eyes gradually deepening, like a bottomless pool of cold water.

"You can even tell that?"

Bai Xuanxin said calmly, "A martial artist's shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, and knees—any problems will be revealed in their complexion, footwork, and the way they strike and recover. You can fool others, but you can't fool me."

Li Feiyu gave a cold laugh, but her voice was even lower than before.

"There are many people in the Seven Mysteries Sect who can treat sprains and bruises, but none of them are like you, speaking as if you've dissected a person to examine them."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xuanxin merely gave a slight chuckle.

"If I could really take it apart and see, I wouldn't need to be holed up in this dilapidated outer hut."

Li Feiyu didn't respond. He stood there, his expression shifting between light and shadow, and after a long while, he suddenly asked:

"Can this injury be treated?"

Bai Xuanxin did not answer immediately.

He first pushed the rough earthenware bowl forward again, gesturing for Li Feiyu to drink some hot water, before calmly saying:

"If it's just a muscle or bone injury from martial arts training, it can be gradually treated and eventually healed. But your injury is different. It wasn't caused by natural wear and tear; it was forcibly caused by something."

He paused slightly as he spoke, his tone serious and unwavering.

"If you're just asking whether we can continue to suppress it, the answer is yes. If you're asking whether we can eradicate it—at least for now, I can't."

These words are both extremely true and extremely cold.

After listening, Li Feiyu did not show any surprise. He just looked down at the half bowl of hot water on the table, his eyes becoming increasingly dark and unfathomable.

Bai Xuanxin didn't offer any comfort.

From the very beginning, he had no intention of playing the saint in front of Li Feiyu. Empty words were useless with this kind of person, and soft words were even more ineffective. Only presenting the facts was to suit his nature.

After a long silence, Li Feiyu finally spoke:

"I had no choice."

He no longer gripped the knife, but leaned slumped against the oak tree, letting out a bitter laugh, his eyes filled with a desperate madness: "So what if they see through it? In this cannibalistic sect, mediocrity is a crime. If I don't take this medicine, I won't even make it past the outer sect competition! Rather than die silently like a stray dog, I'd rather use these last few years of my life to gain a name that will resound throughout Jingzhou!"

Bai Xuanxin listened quietly until he finished speaking, then she looked up at him.

"If you truly thought it was worthless, you wouldn't have gone to such lengths to exchange your life," Bai Xuanxin said calmly. "The sharper the blade, the more you can gain. Since you're willing to risk your life for it, it means you know in your heart that it's at least worth a reputation, worth a future."

Li Feiyu's eyes turned cold: "So what?"

"Not really," Bai Xuan thought to himself. "I'm just telling the truth."

After he said that, the room fell silent again.

The rain outside grew heavier, and water dripped in lines from the eaves. Inside, two people, one sitting and one standing, one cold and the other even quieter, were like two swords yet to be drawn, silently testing their edge in this cramped earthen house.

Finally, Li Feiyu spoke again:

"Since you can see that, you should know that I don't believe in free lunches." He stared intently at Bai Xuanxin. "You didn't ask me where my injury came from, nor why I risked my life for the knife. So what exactly did you gain by helping me?"

This question, in the end, got to the heart of the matter.

Bai Xuanxin simply looked at him, her gaze calm to the point of indifference.

"It's better to have more wise people than more dead ones," he said. "As for other things, there's no point in saying them now."

This sounds like an answer, but it also sounds like no answer.

Li Feiyu stared at him for a long time, as if trying to discern the truth from his expression. But Bai Xuanxin's expression remained unchanged; he neither flinched nor avoided the question, nor did he utter another word.

In the end, Li Feiyu did not ask any further questions.

He raised his hand and drank the half-bowl of hot water on the table in one gulp, then turned and walked towards the door. When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped, turned his face slightly to the side, and his voice was still cold.

"Bai Xuanxin".

Bai Xuanxin responded.

"Your tricks and grappling skills might fool ordinary outer disciples, but they might not fool those with discerning eyes," Li Feiyu said calmly. "There will be many people watching during the inner sect exam in three months. If you only think about hiding, you might not be able to hide at all."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xuanxin's lips curled up slightly.

"Thanks for reminding me," he said, "but I have a problem with that."

"What's wrong?"

"If others always think I'm just hiding, I'll probably want them to be wrong for a while longer."

Li Feiyu listened without saying anything more, and simply pushed open the door and left.

The night wind, carrying cold rain, immediately rushed in, causing the candlelight to flicker violently. Bai Xuanxin remained seated, not rising to see him off, only watching that figure gradually disappear into the night and mountain rain.

Only when the footsteps were completely out of earshot did he slowly get up and close the door again.

The room fell silent again.

Bai Xuanxin returned to her desk, tapping her fingertips lightly on the surface, her expression gradually darkening.

Li Feiyu's visit tonight has come at just the right time.

This shows that he has been truly stung by those words, and that the knife has begun to turn back to look at him. But his turning back is not because of any sentiment, but because he has realized that bit of "value" in Bai Xuanxin.

That would be best.

When affection comes too early, it becomes frivolous.

Value is the most stable start.

Bai Xuanxin lowered her eyes and stared at the flickering lamp on the table, silently reviewing the current situation in her mind once again.

Mo Juren returned to the mountains, and the valley of the Divine Hand gradually tightened;

Han Li has already left a mark using pharmacology.

Li Feiyu finally spoke up.

One is a scholar, the other a warrior; both sides have begun their calculations.

Whether these two lines can truly form a cohesive whole depends on how far he can go within the Seven Mysteries Sect in the coming days.

Thinking of this, Bai Xuanxin raised her hand and adjusted the wick, making the flame brighter again. Then she took out the two handwritten martial arts manuals.

The night rain pattered outside the window, making one's heart sink slightly.

Bai Xuanxin had already calmed down and was reading a book, as if the night visit was just an ordinary little thing in the long night in the mountains.

But he knew in his heart—

In some situations, once someone takes the first step, it's difficult to back down.