Even though the Lantern Rite had not officially begun, Night Market was already overflowing with people.
Bookstalls that usually had few visitors achieved the achievement of being bustling with people, thanks to the convenience of the season.
Countless idle tourists, driven by curiosity, picked up a book, flipped through it for a bit, then put it down and walked towards the next stall that caught their attention.
However, amidst the moving crowd, a peculiar trio remained at the bookstall.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Xingqiu's hands itched as he picked up a wooden stick from the ground nearby and began to perform the moves described in the book.
Although he had only just learned the technique, the sharpness emanating from Xingqiu's every movement indicated that he had already grasped a significant part of it.
It could only be said that he was indeed a martial arts genius; while Dugu Shuo and Chongyun were still bewildered, Xingqiu had already started practicing.
"Hey, kid, don't wave my walking stick around! It can't handle your roughhousing!"
The stall owner's aged voice came from behind. Xingqiu looked back and realized that the "wooden stick" he was holding was the old man's walking stick.
"My apologies, my apologies, I didn't know!" Xingqiu immediately stopped his movements and, with a sheepish smile, returned the walking stick to the stall owner's hand.
He turned around, intending to return to his seat, but felt something brush against his foot.
Looking down, Xingqiu found that the walking stick he had just returned had somehow rolled back to his feet.
Calming himself, he seemed to faintly hear snoring coming from behind him.
Xingqiu had initially wondered how he had so easily grabbed a wooden stick, but now it seemed that the bookstall owner was simply too careless, not putting his walking stick away properly.
After tucking the walking stick into the crevice of the reclining chair, Xingqiu finally returned to his seat.
He glanced at the "martial arts secret manual" in Dugu Shuo's hand and saw that it was still on the same page.
Xingqiu couldn't help but sigh; geniuses always had their troubles.
Just as he was about to urge Dugu Shuo to turn the page, he saw the white-haired boy close the large book with a "bang."
Xingqiu then saw the true name of this "martial arts secret manual."
"«Nine Wisdom Warrior Training Guide»? What a strange name." Xingqiu scratched his head. This name didn't sound like it was from Liyue.
But he quickly understood. Although the book also discussed martial arts, its writing style, terms, and martial arts vocabulary were very different from Liyue's. It was normal for it not to be from Liyue.
"I need to go buy soy sauce. If I'm late, my mom will spank me." Dugu Shuo stuffed the book into the burlap sack he had placed on the bookstall, looking as if he wanted to leave.
"Wait!"
Xingqiu confidently blocked Dugu Shuo's path, preventing him from leaving.
"What do you want?" Dugu Shuo eyed Xingqiu up and down with wary eyes. Had he run into a bandit?
Thinking this, Dugu Shuo's heart stirred with excitement. It seemed his martial arts, which he had diligently studied for many days, were finally going to shine today — he completely forgot that with his current rudimentary skills, he couldn't even fend off his mother's "loving caress."
"Of course, I want to be your book friend!" Xingqiu rubbed his hands, in a way that made one suspect he had ulterior motives.
Indeed, Xingqiu pulled out a secret manual from his robe and showed it off to Dugu Shuo.
"Have you heard of the Guhua Sect?"
Xingqiu looked mysterious.
"I've heard of it, the biggest sect in Liyue!" As someone aspiring to be a great hero, Dugu Shuo had long since inquired about the various sects in Liyue.
Although the Guhua Sect currently only had a double-digit number of members, it truly was the number one sect in Liyue.
In the past, Dugu Shuo had dreamed of joining this sect one day. Of course, that desire wasn't as strong now.
"Hmph hmph hmph! I am the contemporary Senior Disciple of the Guhua Sect, and this book is the legendary «Three Ultimate Techniques of Guhua»! Don't you want it?"
"If you let me read that book you just had, you can receive guidance from the Guhua Sect's Senior Disciple, plus the Guhua Sect's unique secret manual!"
As he spoke, as if to show his generosity, Xingqiu even proactively handed the «Three Ultimate Techniques of Guhua» to Dugu Shuo.
Dugu Shuo took it. He flipped through the book and found it a bit strange. Why was this martial arts secret manual, which supposedly contained the Guhua Sect's ultimate moves, so new?
Perhaps the Guhua Sect valued their ultimate moves! Dugu Shuo explained this illogical phenomenon in his mind, so he continued to flip through it.
As Dugu Shuo flipped through, his small face became increasingly contorted, exactly like Childe's when he drank concentrated Qingxin liquid — because the characters in the book were almost like scribbles, completely illegible!
"How is it? Don't you think it's profound and amazing?"
Xingqiu's tone was full of temptation, while Chongyun's eyes were full of confusion.
Chongyun saw Xingqiu acting so uncharacteristically and thought his dear friend might have been possessed by an evil spirit during one of his acts of chivalry.
"Since that's the case…"
Chongyun looked at Xingqiu, who was acting like he was luring a child, and pulled out a talisman from the stack of talismans at his waist.
"Evil spirit, quickly depart!"
The bright yellow talisman moved without wind, then it directly burst into Burning, forming a bright yellow orb of light in the air.
This was a talisman Chongyun had specially developed based on his Pure Yang Body.
Besides expelling evil and chasing away demons, it also had features like a wide illumination range, wind and water resistance, and no need for fuel.
It was truly Chongyun's excellent helper when he was out and about, performing acts of chivalry!
"Senior Disciple! Your head is on fire!" Regardless of whether he agreed or not, Dugu Shuo had already established the connection.
"What?!" Xingqiu rubbed his eyes, then felt an unusual heat coming from the top of his head.
"Watch my Raincutter Sword Art!" After realizing what was happening, Xingqiu's fingertips danced, and tiny water arrows shot out from his fingertips, extinguishing the extremely strong and pure Yang fire on his head.
Pure Yang power had a strong suppressive effect only on ghosts and evil spirits, but for ordinary things, its effect was truly not very significant.
Furthermore, Xingqiu was also someone with a Vision, so his head merely had a scorched mark.
"Good! Excellent!"
"Wow, I didn't expect there to be acrobatics in Night Market! This trip was truly worthwhile!"
"But isn't this a bookstall?"
...Continuous applause came from all directions. The trio's performance was truly spectacular, making passersby exclaim with delight.
Of course, this included Yu Jin, who was idle.
"Great Hero!"
Dugu Shuo immediately spotted Yu Jin's very conspicuous figure and ran over.
"Great Hero?" Xingqiu wiped away the scorched mark on his head, then smeared it on Chongyun.
This kid, to actually launch a sneak attack, it seems next time they go on an adventure, he'll have to let Chongyun test the waters alone first.
"That's right! This is a true Great Hero, that book was given to me by the Great Hero, he is my, Dugu Shuo's, future goal!"
Dugu Shuo looked excited. Ever since he discovered that the scarecrow and the «Nine Wisdom Warrior Training Guide» Yu Jin gave him were effective, Yu Jin had instantly become the person Dugu Shuo admired most in his heart!
"Is that so? If you don't want your path as a great hero to involve crawling on the ground later, you'd best go buy soy sauce now, otherwise your mother will definitely beat your butt until it blooms!"
Yu Jin's words were like the cold wind from a snowy mountain, chilling Dugu Shuo's heart.
"Great Hero, I will definitely come back to find you!"
After a brief deliberation, Dugu Shuo chose to abandon Yu Jin and go buy soy sauce. This was because his mother's Iron Sand Palm had thirty years of power, a weight that Dugu Shuo could not bear at present.
"I'll be waiting for you anytime." Watching Dugu Shuo's retreating figure, Yu Jin waved to him.
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