"Brother Han, you really do keep yourself cut off from the outside world, don't you? Something this big and you haven't heard a thing? Even if you were in seclusion, your master should have at least mentioned it." Little Abacus's tone carried a hint of suspicion again.
Han Li listened, said nothing, and deftly produced a token from his person, holding it out to Little Abacus.
"Brother Han, what's this for? As if I wouldn't trust you! The moment I saw you, I felt you looked familiar — we must have met before, heh heh!" He darted a quick glance at the token from the corner of his eye, confirmed it was genuine, and hurriedly plastered on a smile.
"Can you tell me now?" Han Li was still focused on the question he had raised earlier.
"Of course, of course I can."
Oh no, I might have offended this fellow, Little Abacus muttered to himself, but his mouth spilled everything out honestly.
It turned out that over the past few years, the conflict between the Seven Mysteries Gate and the Wild Wolf Gang had intensified. The two sides had fought over a dozen battles — large and small — for several wealthy towns of disputed ownership, and both had lost a significant number of men. The Wild Wolf Gang's members had all been trained using the same methods as horse bandits: every one of them fought as if their lives meant nothing, growing even more frenzied at the sight of blood. The disciples of the Seven Mysteries Gate, while more skilled in martial arts, lacked that same ferocity and held back in combat. As a result, the heavier casualties on each side tended to fall on the latter. After several consecutive engagements, several important figures in the Seven Mysteries Gate could no longer sit idle. They dispatched the majority of their inner disciples to join the ongoing string of clashes — partly because these territories absolutely could not be lost, and partly to let the disciples experience the brutality of the jianghu, hone their skills, and gain real combat experience.
In the end, the Seven Mysteries Gate regained the upper hand in subsequent skirmishes, but the inner disciples suffered far too many casualties. Quite a few senior disciples who had left the mountain never returned. At this point, Little Abacus sighed heavily.
Later, several sect leaders changed their strategy. Inner disciples were first assigned less important missions to gain experience elsewhere. Only after accumulating some jianghu experience would they join the fight against the Wild Wolf Gang. This approach significantly reduced casualties, and over the following two years it was formally incorporated into the sect rules, requiring all disciples to go down the mountain and gain experience before being granted any substantive positions within the sect.
And so, almost all of the older senior disciples on the mountain had been sent down. They were now either engaged in conflict with the Wild Wolf Gang or out gaining experience. On the mountain, apart from the disciples assigned to guard duty, only these young, untrained disciples remained.
Hearing all this, Han Li finally understood why things on the mountain had changed so much.
*Clang!* A deafening ring echoed as a flexible sword flew through the air.
Zhao Ziling pressed his left hand against the web of his right thumb, his face pale as he stumbled back several steps, gasping for breath.
Moments ago, under Senior Brother Li's fierce chain of blade strikes, he had been unable to dodge in time and was forced to block with his flexible sword. The tremendous force transmitted through the blade had knocked the weapon clean out of his hand.
"Senior Brother Li, you're truly impressive. I concede defeat." Zhao Ziling managed a strained smile and bowed.
Cheers erupted all around.
"Senior Brother Li, what superb kung fu!"
"Senior Brother Li, what incredible blade work!"
"Senior Brother Li, give this junior some pointers!"
One voice after another clamored eagerly, directed at their idol, ringing across the entire training ground.
Senior Brother Li sheathed his long blade, a faint flush rising to his cheeks. He was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed. He furrowed his brow, as if remembering something.
He cupped his fist and said coolly, "I have some urgent matters to attend to. Please excuse me."
He turned and gracefully floated out of the arena, showing off a flash of impressive qinggong before disappearing into the pine forest near the cliff.
"Tsk tsk! Senior Brother Li not only has great blade skills — his qinggong is remarkable too!"
"Exactly!"
"Exactly!"
Fresh waves of praise rang out.
Han Li furrowed his brow. This Senior Brother Li's skills were decent, but he seemed a bit fond of showing off — probably just young and full of himself.
Then, turning the thought inward, Han Li couldn't help but smile bitterly. He himself wasn't any older than these people, yet his thinking always seemed so aged, as though he were already a little old man. It seemed that cultivating that set of mantras had aged his mindset completely.
"This junior brother — I still don't know your name." Han Li glanced at Little Abacus standing nearby and suddenly asked.
"My name is Jin Dongbao, but Brother Han, just call me Little Abacus." The moment he heard Han Li ask his name, Little Abacus visibly perked up, apparently thinking he had latched onto an important patron.
"From now on, if you're sick or injured, just come find me. I'll treat you for free." Han Li patted him on the shoulder, glanced at the crowd in the arena where another dispute had broken out, then walked into the nearby pine forest without looking back.
Left behind, Jin Dongbao stood there dazed, bewildered, unable to make sense of what had just been said.
(End of Chapter)