More than three hundred warhorses had vanished suddenly without a trace, something far beyond the capabilities of a low-ranking official like him—any official with a modicum of sense could guess that. Nevertheless, Emperor Chongming had still thrown him into the Sky Prison and sentenced him to death.
Perhaps this was a necessary measure Emperor Chongming took to ensure the stability of the court.
However, as mere cannon fodder, Xu Xing couldn't care less about such matters.
A maidservant who doesn't pity her own circumstances but instead worries about her pampered, silk-clad masters... is simply unhinged. He was petty. If he ever gained the power, he would definitely drag Emperor Chongming, that dog of an emperor, from his throne.
「...」
He blinked, and instantly, he found himself in a new world.
Rough singing verses reached his ears. Xu Xing looked ahead. In the simple room before him stood a Black Wooden Altar Table, upon which was enshrined a statue of the Guan Sheng Emperor with closed eyes.
He was currently kneeling on the ground.
Beside the Shrine stood a burly, dark-skinned man in a tattered leather jacket. His hands were half-hidden in his sleeves, and a long knife in a black sheath hung at his waist.
"Having sung this Red Stick chant, from this day forward, you are a brother of my Qin Fengshan, a disciple of our Xiaoyi Hall..."
An imposing air naturally emanated from the man. When he looked at Xu Xing, his eyes seemed to transform into two sharp blades, as if poised to strip flesh from bone in the next instant. Even without a fight, his aura was enough to make one's heart quail.
Brother? Elder Brother Association?
Xu Xing was startled as memories flooded his mind like a surging tide. In this life, he had been born into poverty. During a drought in Qin Province in the fifteenth year of Guangxu, he had nearly starved to death. Fortunately, he encountered a group of knife-wielders and survived the ordeal by tending to their horses and meals.
Eight years had passed swiftly. He had gained the favor of Master Ma, the Red Stick of Xiaoyi Hall, who was inducting him into the Elder Brother Association as a brother today.
"Drink this bowl of wine, pay your respects to the Guan Sheng Emperor, and from this moment on, you are one of our sworn brothers."
Several brothers stepped forward, placing large, coarse porcelain tea bowls on the altar table. Master Ma, holding a wine jar, filled the bowls one by one with Yellow Wine. Then, he handed a bowl to Xu Xing, his voice deep.
The Elder Brother Association didn't use teacups, only teabowls. This was the rule! The arrangement and order of these teabowls followed specific protocols.
"Drink!"
The brothers clinked their bowls together and drained the wine in one gulp.
Kneeling on the ground, various thoughts flashed through Xu Xing's mind.
He knew the Elder Brother Association in Qin Province was involved in anti-Qing rebellion. Following them would inevitably lead to a violent death. While some brothers might survive to see success, that rarely applied to minor members like him. While resisting the Qing was a righteous cause, laying down his life for it... especially in what was merely an Instance World in his reincarnation cycle, just wasn't worth it. But all things considered, he was now a brother. If he refused this drink, Master Ma, the Red Stick of Xiaoyi Hall standing before him, would likely draw his knife and end his life on the spot.
Xu Xing took the teabowl and downed the Yellow Wine in one go.
The wine was crude, with a harsh, alcoholic tang. After drinking it, he felt somewhat dizzy.
But in an instant, the Bronze Ancient Mirror in his mind trembled slightly. The drunken state vanished immediately, and he regained his clarity.
"You hold your liquor well," Master Ma remarked, seeing Xu Xing wasn't drunk. He then asked, "Which association have you joined? What sect do you believe in?"
"I have joined the Tiandi Association and believe in the Bagua Sect," Xu Xing replied hurriedly, a jolt running through him.
The Elder Brother Association was a branch of the Tiandi Association. Its origins could be traced to the "Tiandi Association" and "Bagua Sect." There was an association poem: "Heaven's rise aids the sun's red; Earth's geography pierces heaven; The meeting of Yin and Yang makes four; Eight sworn brothers at the Muyang tree; The trigrams decree for sun and moon; The teaching makes sons swear an oath." The first character of each line combined to form "Tiandi Association, Bagua Sect."
Master Ma was asking about the association poem. This was basic knowledge every brother had to memorize. Reciting it incorrectly would lead to punishment according to the hall's disciplines.
Furthermore, claiming to belong to the Bagua Sect served another purpose. During the Tongzhi years, the Tianli Sect, a branch of the White Lotus Sect, had infiltrated the Imperial Palace and nearly succeeded in their rebellion. The Bagua Sect was also a branch of the White Lotus Sect. Thus, by claiming membership, the brothers declared their unwavering determination to oppose the Qing Dynasty.
"In a month, Fang Yun, the Governor of Qin Province, will meet with the great scholar Zhu Zhaolian at The First Normal School..."
"Although Fang Yun is a Mongolian Tartar, he has always respected Confucianism. He definitely won't bring a large contingent of soldiers and horses into the normal school this time. This will be our chance to assassinate him!"
After telling Xu Xing to rise, Master Ma surveyed the men and spoke of the critical matter recently plotted by Qin Fengshan's Xiaoyi Hall.
Fang Yun was a key official on the Qing Dynasty's frontier, responsible for northwestern defenses, and a staunch royalist. A few years later, when Empress Dowager Cixi fled to Chang'an, it was Fang Yun who personally escorted her, a true loyal minister to the Qing.
"Yes, Lord Ma!" several brothers shouted their agreement, nodding.
"Xu Xing, follow me."
"Now that you've joined our Elder Brother Association, we are brothers, as close as family. I will now teach you swordsmanship..."
After they dispersed, Master Ma led Xu Xing alone to the rear courtyard, speaking as they walked.
From the early Xianfeng reign to the late Qing Dynasty, whenever natural disasters struck Guanzhong, the victims often became knife-wielders. West of Tongguan, these armed men persisted despite prohibitions, venturing out with a Guanshan Knife tucked in their belts.
The later figure Erhu, known for guarding Chang'an, was also such a knife-wielder.
Moreover, the identities of brothers and knife-wielders largely overlapped. Most knife-wielders were also brothers in the association.
And Master Ma's swordsmanship was renowned in the Guanzhong region.
All this information was clearly recorded in Xu Xing's memory from this life.
However, in the courtyard, on the loess ground, a teenage boy stood practicing. He was dressed much like Master Ma in a worn-out leather jacket and was practicing with a knife—a Guanshan Knife, similar to a Song Dynasty Pu Dao but with a shorter handle.
Suddenly, a cold gleam of light flashed from the knife.
The next moment, four or five stalks of green bamboo in the courtyard, each as thick as a wrist, were instantly severed.
The bamboo crashed down, stirring up dust from the ground.
Xu Xing, who was just stepping into the courtyard, couldn't help but let his eyebrows twitch.
Only then did he recall that Master Ma's son was named Haige. If his memory served him right, this Haige was a character from a movie, capable of controlling a knife with Qi and killing a 'knife immortal' with a single strike.
Is this not a historical period, but an Instance World mixed with various film and television elements? Xu Xing wondered.
Even in actual history, while there was Machii Isao, a Kendo master who practiced iaijutsu to cut bullets with his blade and set a Guinness World Record, no matter how powerful a martial arts expert, it should be impossible to control a knife with Qi and sever so many bamboo stalks with a single stroke.
One had to know, the older the bamboo, the greater its resilience.
"My swordsmanship is called... Guanxi Wuji Knife."
Master Ma began his martial arts instruction.