Well lived up to its reputation

Gongyi Xiu racked his brains for a long time to find a reason not to hurt anyone, and finally said hesitantly, "You know that Master is a bit of a germaphobe."

A-Qiu said, "I know! The pen, ink, and paper I used were all clean, and the bamboo tube I used to seal it was free of mud and ash!"

Gongyi Xiu could only say, "This fastidiousness means that if you do something in front of him and do it well, that's fine; but if you do it poorly and show it to him, he will feel like he has a thorn in his back and will be very uncomfortable."

After thinking for a moment, A Qiu said with certainty, "When I kill someone, I always strike with a swift and decisive blow, drawing blood and sealing their throat. Every wound on their head is clean and swift, a single, clean cut."

Gongyi Xiu was exasperated. Seeing that no matter how he hinted, his junior sister still couldn't grasp the point, he decided to speak frankly.

"Ah Qiu, are you willing to retire from the martial world with me and grow old together?"

A Qiu was already young at the time, and was greatly startled by Gongyi Xiu's sudden confession. She immediately and decisively said, "I don't want to!"

Gongyi Xiu said with a mournful face, "I don't want to either. But if your master sees your calligraphy again, he will lose his temper and definitely make me take you to the back mountain to practice calligraphy. If you don't improve, you won't be allowed to leave seclusion. But if you want your calligraphy to be up to his standards, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the next life."

Wan Qiqing's expectations for A Qiu's calligraphy were probably only known to himself. However, Gongyi Xiu was the disciple who understood him best. When he saw his master's greatly shocked expression after seeing A Qiu's handwriting, he knew that something was wrong. He also remembered that he was involved in this matter, and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

A-Qiu finally realized her master's obsession with calligraphy and her expression changed. "Then what should we do? As the head of the Divine Weapon Hall and the chief assassin, do I really have to master calligraphy?" She looked at Gongyi Xiu suspiciously and decided to speak her mind truthfully:

“Your and Senior Brother Mo Yi’s calligraphy is better than mine, but it’s not good enough to reach the level of transcendence. Why doesn’t Master ask you to go into seclusion and practice so that you can reach a higher level?”

Gongyi Xiu beat his chest and stamped his feet, saying, "Why do you care what your master thinks? Just don't let your master see your writing! If you don't go and reveal yourself to him, he will never remember this matter in this lifetime!"

There's no need to strive to understand what you don't know; just knowing how to deal with it is enough. From then on, A Qiu learned half of the essence of her senior brother's strategic and adaptable approach.

From then on, she kept her talent hidden and never picked up a pen unless necessary. She was even more stingy with her calligraphy than famous calligraphers, truly showing how much she valued words.

But not writing doesn't mean she can't read. When Zhao Lingying raised the judge's pen and made a dotted gesture, the invisible character "永" (yong, meaning eternal) appeared before her eyes, all the memories of learning calligraphy came flooding back and surged into her mind.

Zhao Lingying stood before her with her hands behind her back, her judge's pens hidden behind her back. Her bright and pretty eyes were scrutinizing her, watching her reaction closely.

Many fragments and clues gathered and scattered in my mind, eventually connecting into a clear and bright thread.

The eldest brother is a man of broad learning and wide-ranging interests. He once said that not everyone in the world begins learning calligraphy with the character "永" (yong). This should be a secret method passed down by a calligrapher in the Southern Dynasties. It was only after Wan Qiqing learned it that it became an essential path for the disciples of Lanling Hall to learn calligraphy.

Zhao Lingying's use of the judge's brush is also different from the style of ordinary martial arts masters. Between lifting, picking, stabbing, and stroking, it actually contains the various styles of calligraphers and also has a graceful and elegant form.

Then, considering that Zhao Lingying had just deliberately written the character "永" (yong, meaning eternal) in the air, it was clear that she had also received the teachings of that calligrapher from the Southern Dynasties. She had almost clearly revealed the origin of her calligraphy style, but it was unclear how she could be so sure that A Qiu had also practiced this art and could recognize it.

In fact, even now, A Qiu doesn't know who her master learned this technique from. She also has no way of telling Zhao Lingying that she is a disciple of Lanling Hall.

The only certainty is that Zhao Lingying's calligraphy style must be inextricably linked to the style passed down by his master, Wan Qiqing, and may even belong to the same school.

At this moment, Zhao Lingying's gaze seemed to be testing her, but it was more like probing.

After thinking for a while, a suitable answer gradually emerged in A Qiu's mind.

"how?"

Seeing that she had been silently concentrating for a long time, as if she had come to some understanding, Zhao Lingying asked her again.

A Qiu already had a plan in mind. Meeting Zhao Lingying's gaze, she said, "A Qiu seems to have a feeling, but I don't know if it's right or wrong. Please tell me and I hope Your Highness will criticize and correct me."

Zhao Lingying's eyes betrayed no emotion; she calmly said, "Go ahead."

Ah Qiu said, word by word, "Observing Zhao Rong's brushwork, the horizontal strokes are like a thousand miles of battle clouds, seemingly faint but actually having form; the dots are like stones falling from a high peak, striking and solid as if collapsing."

Zhao Lingying was already horrified when she heard the first words from her mouth.

If you were behind her at this moment, you would see that her hand holding the judge's pen was trembling slightly.

But of course, A-Qiu couldn't see it. She just kept talking to herself, saying in one breath:

"Zhao Rong uses the character '永' to encompass all aspects of the character. The left-falling stroke is like a rhinoceros or elephant breaking through the land, the right-falling stroke is like a crossbow firing with a hundred pounds of force, the vertical stroke is like a withered vine that has lasted for ten thousand years, the right-falling stroke is like a crashing wave and a thunderous rush, and the left-falling stroke is like the sinews of a powerful crossbow. Every detail is revealed, and every subtlety is present. The master's style can be seen everywhere."

Zhao Lingying's beautiful face gradually turned from surprise to paleness, and finally, a look of desolation and bewilderment appeared on her face.

She looked at A-Qiu, seemingly unable to believe that she could say such a thing, and said with difficulty, "Where have you seen this before..." Then she remembered that she had promised to hide A-Qiu's background, and immediately stopped talking.

A-Qiu looked at her with her beautiful, clear black and white eyes and said respectfully, "I wonder if what A-Qiu said about the origin of Zhao Rong's Judge's Pen martial arts is correct?"

What she was referring to was a book of calligraphy treatises called "The Diagram of Brushstrokes" from her master Wanqi Qingsong Xuetang. The author of "The Diagram of Brushstrokes" was unknown, and it was unsigned, but even with A Qiu's "unique and distinctive" eye for calligraphy, one could see that it possessed an ancient and lofty spirit and a myriad of expressions.

The *Bizhen Tu* (Brushwork Diagram) summarizes brushwork techniques into seven types, while the character "永" (yong) encompasses eight. Since both appear simultaneously in the Lanling Hall, they must be related by lineage. The most likely explanation is that the practice method for the character "永" is inherited from the *Bizhen Tu*, representing a further development of its theory.

Therefore, her analysis of Zhao Lingying's martial arts origins based on the "Treatise on Brushstrokes" is not wrong.

By this point, she had also come to understand one thing.

Whether it's the method of practicing the character "永" or the "Treatise on Brushstrokes," it could only have come from aristocratic families that had enjoyed generations of wealth and status. Zhao Lingying himself came from a prominent family in Wu County, a local aristocratic family in the southeast, so he could have formed a teacher-student relationship with such a powerful family in the capital.

Zhao Lingying, judging by the martial arts skills he acquired from calligraphy, most likely considered her a disciple who had inherited the skills of an old friend.

But A Qiu didn't believe that Zhao Lingying had any connection with his master Wan Qiqing or Lanling Hall.

My master is of mixed Han and non-Han descent. Even if he once infiltrated the Southern Dynasty court as a musician from the Northern Qiang and achieved great artistic success, his ethnic background would never allow him to have any interaction with Zhao Lingying, a palace lady from a prominent family in Wu County.

Not to mention that he later became the master of the All-Knowing Assassins Hall, while Zhao Lingying was the Imperial Flying Phoenix Guard of the Great Yan Dynasty.

She simply didn't know who Zhao Lingying regarded her as.

A long, mournful wind swept through the endless night of the palace. Here stood two figures, silently facing each other, before the Zhengyang Gate, where rebel forces had once stormed and beheaded countless people.

After a long while, Zhao Lingying finally regained his senses, turned his head away from her, and said in a deep voice, "Remember to come to the Jiaolan Bureau to see me when you have time. I still have some questions to ask you."

A Qiu was taken aback. Did that mean Zhao Lingying was just going to let her go tonight?

She hesitated and asked, "How will Consort Zhaorong explain this to Madam Pei?"

Zhao Lingying countered, "I couldn't possibly keep both you and Li Chongyu here at the same time, so I let Li Chongyu escape. Is that reason strange? Now that Li Chongyu has fled, do I still need to get rid of you, the successor of the Junior Master?"

A sly smile played on her lips: "Even if I wanted to get rid of you, I could still fail because I'm no match for you. After all, Sister Huaying herself suffered at your hands just now. She won't disbelieve me when I say this."

Ah Qiu suddenly realized: Zhao Lingying probably never intended to keep Li Chongyu from the beginning. Her volunteering to guard Zhengyang Gate was likely to keep Mu Huaying in check and to allow Li Chongyu to leave the palace as soon as possible. The sooner he was away from the palace, the safer he would be.

If the Divine Hound Camp and Pei Yu were guarding this place, Li Chongyu would not have been able to escape so easily.

As for Zhao Lingying's insistence on making a bet with A Qiu later on, it was probably only because her interest in A Qiu had long since surpassed that in Li Chongyu.

Upon understanding this, A Qiu could only sigh in her heart: The number one talented woman of Dayan, the former Flying Phoenix Guardian, truly lived up to her reputation.

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly: what is false is real, and what is real is false. With Zhao Lingying's ability to outwit everyone in the world, what people, events, feelings, and righteousness could possibly make her show mercy to her descendants and let them leave without any difficulty?

Zhao Lingying, his yellow robe fluttering, turned and left as soon as he moved.

Only then did A Qiu realize the weight in her hand, and called out to her retreating figure, "Zhao Rong, your gold hairpin!"

Zhao Lingying paused slightly, then said without turning her head, "It's yours!"

In the next instant, her figure leaped up and disappeared without a trace.

Holding the heavy gold hairpin, A Qiu lingered for a moment before leaping through Zhengyang Gate and rushing towards the outside of the palace.

If Zhengyang Gate distinguishes between the inner and outer palace cities, and leaving Zhengyang Gate means leaving the imperial palace area, then Dasima Gate is the dividing line between the outer palace city and the imperial city. Only after leaving Dasima Gate does one leave the jurisdiction and surveillance of the Imperial Guards of the palace, but also enter the jurisdiction of Jianzhang Division, which is responsible for the security of the capital.

From a feeling perspective, the time spent fighting with Zhao Lingying seemed extremely long for A Qiu. That was purely because Zhao Lingying was first-rate in both cunning and eloquence, which put her under great pressure. Under her, she was afraid of making a mistake, so she felt that every day was like a year.

In reality, his fight with Zhao Lingying lasted no more than three moves, and their conversation consisted of only a few words.

When A Qiu arrived at the Grand Marshal's Gate, he saw Li Chongyu standing with his knife, facing off against the murderous Divine Hound Camp.

At a glance, countless mastiffs with eyes like copper bells gleamed green in the night, staring intently at Li Chongyu and A Qiu, who had just arrived.

Nearly a thousand gleaming swordsmen, countless arrows drawn on the arrow towers, and the bloodthirsty nature unleashed by hundreds of ferocious beasts made even the seasoned Ah Qiu feel uneasy for the first time.

But she was still the queen of assassins who had taken the head of a general from among a million soldiers, although back then she had taken advantage of a moment's weakness, unlike now when the enemy was well-prepared. Nevertheless, she forced herself to remain calm, and while constantly moving closer to Li Chongyu from behind, she called out in a seemingly casual tone, "My lord, please forgive me for being late in protecting you."