Makeup (Part 3)
In the middle of the night, Meng Shizhuang turned over gently.
He crossed his arms over his chest, his palms resting on his well-defined ribs.
The faint moonlight covered half of the room. Opposite the wooden bed were the two swords that Lao Ju used in the past, and above them was a calligraphy framed.
Meng Shizhuang closed her eyes, and Lao Hu's words came to her mind again.
He was upset and was about to turn over again when Lao Ju, who was beside him, coughed twice. He stood up and observed Lao Ju's face in the moonlight. Lao Ju's brows were furrowed, but he was still sleeping soundly.
Meng Shizhuang breathed a sigh of relief and got up from the wooden bed.
He walked out of the inner room, found the dagger he had put away, and tightened his loose trouser waist.
The weather is not very good tonight. Only half of the moon is visible, and the rest is hidden in the clouds. It looks like it is going to rain.
Meng Shizhuang held the dagger in his left hand, then tilted the handle upwards as usual. When the sound of the blade and the sheath colliding was heard, he realized that the weapon in his hand was not a plain sword.
He lowered his eyes for a long time, then stretched out his hand to measure the length of the dagger.
The surroundings were very quiet, and Meng Shizhuang could only hear the sound of the wind caused by his own practice.
This short sword was easier to use than the plain sword, which was too long and too heavy for him to wield cleanly.
But after pulling out the knife several times, Meng Shizhuang still held the knife and drew it by slitting the scabbard. He slowly calmed down and closed his eyes. The scolding from Lao Hu that had lingered on the wooden bed had dissipated.
But it was still Lao Hu's voice.
"The sword must be pointed forward to injure. You are the one wielding the sword, your heart and eyes should be one with the sword, not your mind solely focused on your opponent or the moves. If you dance like this, you won't even know where the sword's tip is pointing."
Meng Shizhuang didn't open her eyes, painting the shadow of the sword in her mind. In the dilapidated front yard, the afterimage of the dagger almost formed a substantial wave, the blade wind surging forward with incredible force, finally not sinking into the floor tiles, leaving several deep marks.
His grip on the knife remained unchanged, and after opening his eyes, his gaze fell on the blade, which was in the same direction as he had described.
Meng Shizhuang calmed his breathing and picked up the scabbard that had fallen on the ground.
He closed the knife and was about to strike again when he heard a commotion not far away.
Then there was a long, sharp whistle.
Then, the intermittent burning torches illuminated the entire hilltop.
The whistle was a warning from the patrolling disciples who had sensed an enemy attack.
Many years ago, the first leader of Sujian Mountain established his sect here. Meanwhile, several nearby mountains were successively occupied by other factions, each claiming to be a true knight. Each of these "factions" claimed to be the true knights, while the others were merely bandits. Consequently, they engaged in frequent battles to consolidate their position.
Today, life is becoming increasingly difficult. It takes the "knights" from all sides ten days or half a month to catch a lone traveler at the foot of the mountain. After stealing some money and food, which is not enough to support themselves, they turn their attention to the "neighboring mountains".
Tonight marks the thirteenth enemy attack this month.
Such matters of "guarding the sect" had never been Meng Shizhuang's turn to participate. He returned to the inner room and saw Lao Ju sitting up from the bed with some difficulty.
Seeing him, Lao Ju felt relieved and warned him, "Don't wander around."
As he spoke, he noticed the dagger in Meng Shizhuang's hand under the dim moonlight and said, "Don't let anyone know you're practicing martial arts."
Meng Shizhuang was used to his instructions and nodded in agreement. She waited until he fell asleep again before leaving the inner room.
At this time, most people on the mountain had gathered at the mountain gate.
Meng Shizhuang had never left the mountain in his memory. He only heard from Lao Ju that there was an extremely sophisticated mechanism at the gate of Sujian Mountain. The disciples in charge of each part could only operate the mechanism of that part, and this mechanism would be rearranged every few months.
It was designed by the master of Qianji Hall who is proficient in mechanical engineering.
However, this person passed away two years ago, and since then, the mechanism of the mountain gate has never changed.
Meng Shizhuang walked to a weed-covered corner of the outer courtyard of Keju, and used her scabbard to push aside the weeds that were as tall as a person, revealing the mottled courtyard wall. In addition to the traces left by the years, there were also many scratches left by humans.
Meng Shizhuang stood by the wall waiting.
Until the first pivotal sound that could shake half a mountain was heard, he slashed open the scabbard and performed his first move.
This move did not last long, and the sword stopped abruptly halfway through.
Meng Shizhuang faced the wall, his eyes scanning the two scratches on it.
When the second pivot sounded, he immediately drew his sword and danced with it, ignoring the pivot sound.
Just as he put away his knife, the sound of the hinge fell heavily.
Twelve consecutive key sounds all coincided with the timing of his movements.
Then, there was the sound of the mountain gate opening wide.
Meng Shizhuang suppressed his violently beating heart, carefully picked up the half-fallen weeds, and covered the wall.
The next morning, it was still dark.
Meng Shizhuang stood by the dilapidated window, boiling medicine for Lao Ju. With the weather warming up lately, Lao Ju's cough wasn't as severe as in winter, but it came back more severely at night, taking him a long time to fall asleep.
He poured the medicine into the bowl, filled it with half a bowl of millet porridge, and went into the inner room with a bowl in each hand.
When Lao Ju saw him come in, he moved half of the bed to him and asked, "Have you eaten?"
Meng Shizhuang didn't sit down, but held the medicine bowl and waited for him to finish the porridge first.
"have eaten."
In fact, he didn't eat today.
No one took care of their food in the mountains, and they couldn't go down the mountain. They could only rely on others for help occasionally, or he would go to the kitchen to steal or beg.
He was used to being hungry, and now he didn't find it difficult to eat once every two days.
Lao Ju nodded, took the medicine from his hand and drank it all in one gulp. Then he said calmly, "Remember to get the sword back today."
Meng Shizhuang paused holding the bowl and stared at Lao Ju with lowered eyes.
When Lao Ju said this, he didn't look at Meng Shizhuang, but raised his head and fixed his gaze on the words on the wall.
The familiar silence spread again.
Meng Shizhuang's anger, which had been calm for the whole night, started burning again.
He and Lao Ju were always like this, and they had many awkward quarrels and silences because of the sword.
The bitter smell of medicine was still at the tip of her nose. Meng Shizhuang's throat was tight and she didn't want to speak, so she had to follow Lao Ju's gaze to look at the words on the wall.
He can't read.
Lao Ju often stared at the calligraphy, but no one ever told him how to pronounce it or what it meant.
Meng Shizhuang overheard an old man on the mountain talking, saying that most people love things hung on the wall. If they are not priceless and appealing to different tastes, then they are probably memories of the past. And for the owner, this past is either a warning from the past or an answer to the future.
Although he was not very knowledgeable, he could tell that the calligraphy was tattered and worthless. When Lao Ju asked him to walk around the mountain with the white sword in his arms, he would cough and look at the calligraphy.
So Meng Shizhuang guessed that whether this calligraphy was an answer or a warning, it was nonsense.
Seeing that Meng Shizhuang didn't respond for a long time, Lao Ju repeated his words in a low voice.
Meng Shizhuang stood beside Lao Ju. When he bowed his head, he could see the white hair on his temples and the deep wrinkles on his brow. The fire that constantly burned in his heart was filled with numbness and resentment, and he had no strength to speak.
"How long shall I continue to pretend to be a woman, holding a sword, and allow myself to be bullied?"
Lao Ju clenched his hands hanging by the bed and said, "Wait until you can take me down the mountain."
"We are in an awkward position in the mountains, so this is the only way."
Meng Shizhuang couldn't argue with Lao Ju about how unreasonable what he was asked to do was. He put away the bowl, and the anger in his heart turned into a cold "I know."
-
Having just faced an enemy attack the previous night, the disciples in the mountains were now quite lazy, with only those in the Loyalty Hall still attending morning classes. After Old Hu finished instructing the disciples, he took one look at the sky and ordered everyone to disperse.
After the disciples left, he sat alone on a wooden chair in front of the door, drank some tea, and began to polish his sword.
Ke Congzhou filled a basin of water for him and said, "Master, let me come."
Lao Hu shook his head and told him to go down, saying there was no need to follow him.
In fact, if we consider seniority, it would be inappropriate for Lao Hu to accept Ke Congzhou as his apprentice.
Ke Congzhou's father was his eldest disciple, so he should be considered his master's disciple. However, Ke Congzhou's father had passed away, and Luo Shun was unwilling to accept Ke Congzhou as his disciple, nor did he have the patience to teach Ke Congzhou, so he had no choice but to leave him to Lao Hu.
Ke Congzhou looked disappointed. He bent down, put down the water and was about to leave.
While he was doing this, Lao Hu watched him quietly and found that the thirteen-year-old boy had grown tall and strong, with an upright and powerful posture. When he turned his face to the side, the curve of his jaw was 70% similar to that of his father.
Lao Hu has never been very active in getting close to him.
He had made mistakes in the past, and now, looking at Ke Congzhou's trusting and admiring eyes, Old Hu always thought of his eldest disciple, so he felt a little guilty and did not dare to let Ke Congzhou really treat him as a respectable elder.
But it's hard for a child this age to hide his thoughts. Lao Hu noticed his gloom and was about to say something when someone walked into his peripheral vision. His eyes changed and his brows immediately frowned: "What are you doing here!"
Ke Cong was stunned on Monday and turned around to look back.
Meng Shizhuang still had bruises on her face as she walked to the steps in front of Lao Hu, not paying any attention to Ke Congzhou.
Lao Hu looked down at Meng Shizhuang and caught a glimpse of Ke Congzhou standing there like a pine or bamboo, with a calm temperament. Meng Shizhuang, on the other hand, had her head slightly lowered, her neck slightly hunched, her shoulders raised high, and her hair tied loosely behind her head, making her eyes and brows look gloomy and listless.
Lao Hu raised his voice: "Stand up straight! What does it look like to hunch over?"
Meng Shizhuang's heart subconsciously tightened, and she wanted to do as he said, but she held back and let out a slightly trembling voice from her throat.
"Give me back my sword."
Lao Hu glanced at Ke Congzhou who was standing beside him and refused bluntly: "No."
Meng Shizhuang was mostly afraid of Lao Hu, so he didn't really expect to get the sword when he came to ask for it.
He thought, it's just as well that he doesn't give it to me, since he doesn't want the sword anyway. When Lao Ju asks about it again, he can just say that Lao Hu refuses to give it to him. What can he do?
Meng Shizhuang made up her mind and turned to leave.
As he turned around, he remembered the heart-wrenching sound of Lao Ju's cough and stopped in his tracks.
On one side, Lao Hu frowned in discontent and authority, while on the other, Lao Ju coughed and urged him on. Meng Shizhuang froze in his tracks. Before he could decide what to do, he was already scanning the surroundings of Zhongyi Hall.
Just steal the sword.
At least he could still report to Lao Ju when being scolded by Lao Hu.
Lao Hu didn't know what Meng Shizhuang was thinking, so he stopped him and said, "Wait."
Meng Shizhuang's back stiffened, thinking that his gaze was too presumptuous.
Lao Hu said, "From now on, you don't have to walk around the mountain with a sword in your arms."
Meng Shizhuang raised her head and met his eyes: "What?"
Lao Hu repeated his words and added, "If you want a sword, pick one from me."
As he spoke, his eyes fell on Meng Shizhuang's chest. Seeing the two incongruous bulges there, he couldn't help but frown even deeper: "Take off all these tricks. When you go out, dress properly."
Meng Shizhuang looked at Lao Hu in astonishment.
Lao Hu's first words flew past his ears hastily, leaving only the horror of the second sentence.
He knew his female attire wasn't particularly striking, but supplies were scarce in the mountains, and men and women wore the same clothing. He wasn't any different from the other equally frail girls there. Over the years, he'd never encountered a situation where his gender was revealed.
Meng Shizhuang was reluctant and only questioned Lao Ju.
When asked how he could dress so poorly without arousing suspicion, he could still walk around the mountain three times a day in such a swaggering manner.
Lao Ju replied: "No one will doubt it."
An absurd idea took shape in his mind, and his blood froze. The burning anger in his heart spread all the way to his face, burning his eyes red and his shoulders so hot that he almost sweated.
He finally understood.
Is it that no one would suspect that he is a girl, or is it that his funny disguise has long been an unspoken laughing stock on this mountain?
Lao Hu watched Meng Shizhuang's expression change, but said nothing more.
Ke Congzhou was confused. Seeing Meng Shizhuang leave without saying a word, he took two steps forward and said, "Senior Sister Meng, do you want me to take you to pick a sword?"
Meng Shizhuang turned around and saw the young man of the same age as him bathing in the sparse breeze and bright sunshine, with a calm and generous smile on his face. Lao Hu stood behind him like a reliable mountain, looking at him quietly.
His teeth ached from clenching them.
All the help and guidance that Lao Hu had given him over the years suddenly disappeared at this moment.
He just felt that the other party was being hypocritical.
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