Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 102: Are You Really the Heavenly Tome

Xia Chichi did not stay too long. She truly did not dare to be discovered to have snuck out to see Zhao Changhe by her subordinates. She had casually found an excuse to leave the team and could not be away for too long.

She didn’t really have any regrets about indulging Zhao Changhe’s desires. With that said, he had been a little rough, and she was starting to feel a bit sore. She gnashed her teeth to endure the pain without making a sound.

Both feeling guilty for her actions and hoping that he would become the domineering person he was destined to be, Xia Chichi believed that a bold and heroic person like Zhao Changhe should not be bound by anything, especially not by a witch who could not even offer him a normal relationship.

Xia Chichi’s disappearance had not aroused much suspicion from her subordinates as she had only been gone for a few hours. She let out a sigh and quietly asked her divine sword, “Did I do the right thing, Iceheart?”

The divine sword, Iceheart, remained silent.

“He played with every part of me. He even tied my legs together. Those... Those techniques he used, where did he even learn them? Were my legs designed for such a purpose?” Xia Chichi murmured to herself. “He even lifted me up with one hand by both of my ankles and told me that that was how one was supposed to do it at the beginning of summer...”

Iceheart: “...”

“He nearly went all the way, but luckily he managed to restrain himself... It’s really strange... my cultivation is so much higher than his, so why couldn’t I resist him at all? I felt so weak,” Xia Chichi muttered.

Iceheart continued to remain silent.

“Anyway, I feel so sore...” Xia Chichi sniffled. “He played with me all he wanted, but now, I won’t be able to be with him for a long time.”

Iceheart finally moved slightly.

“Hey,” Xia Chichi became alert. “You are not allowed to go after him. He’s someone I’ve recognized and chosen. No matter how bitter I might feel, I’ve already made my choice!”

Iceheart seemed to calm down when it heard what she said.

Then what was the point of acting all weak when you were complaining about how he played with you? Were you trying to show off or something? Humans are so strange.

“It’s just that I can’t be with him... I have so many things to do. After all, I’m... just a witch. Aren’t witches supposed to be like this?” Xia Chichi’s eyes glimmered, and she finally drew her sword. “Alright, everyone, rest time is over. We shall return overnight and report to the cult about our encounter with the Maitreya Cult. This is a good enough reason to start a war. It is time for the Four Idols Cult to expand its influence.”

Everyone stood up and saluted. “Yes!”

Meanwhile, in the inn, Zhao Changhe stared at his open palm, reminiscing the soft and supple sensation as her faint fragrance still lingered around him.

He wondered whether this counted as losing his virginity... He honestly wasn’t sure. Some of the positions they had been in did not feel like they would be much different from the real thing.

Conquest and surrender, gazing into one another’s eyes and seeing bewilderment and vulnerability...

Was this his true transformation into a man? Did he hope for more such experiences?

He could not say for certain.

Zhao Changhe took several long and deep breaths before slowly straightening out his disheveled clothes. He realized that he had to change some of his way of thinking from this point onward.

He could not go back to the modern world... At least not for a good number of years.

As he touched his clothes, he felt like something was missing. Then he recalled that he had thrown the golden page under the bed because it felt uncomfortable in his pocket.

Zhao Changhe leaned down to pick it up, sighing, “If you really are a page of the Heavenly Tome, then it would have been truly embarrassing to leave you behind. You can’t blame us, though. You look so ordinary that no one can possibly recognize you. I’ll try a couple of things, and if nothing works, then it seems that I’m simply out of luck...”

He wasted no time and immediately pricked his finger, allowing a drop of his blood to drip onto the gold foil.

It showed no response.

He heated it over an oil lamp, still no response.

He soaked it in a basin of water, nothing.

What other methods are there? Zhao Changhe looked around and saw a silk scarf by the bed. It was the thing he used to wipe off the aftermath of his little encounter with Xia Chichi.

He took the scarf and wiped it on the gold foil.

No reaction.

“Damn, none of these protagonist-level tricks did anything. I guess I really am out of luck for the moment,” Zhao Changhe muttered in frustration as he cleaned the gold foil and placed it back into his pocket.

I can’t just risk cutting, chopping, or chiseling it. What if I damage it? Well, if it can be damaged just like that, then it can’t really be that valuable, right? No, I can’t think like that. I need to be careful when it comes to things like these.

This gold foil had been hidden in the cushion of a powerful sword cultivator from the previous era. Even if it was not a page of the Heavenly Tome, it had to be a very important treasure. In the end, he decided to keep it, believing that he would one day be able to discover its true purpose.

Perhaps he could ask that blind fortune teller the next time she entered his dreams? Zhao Changhe did not believe that he could hide such an item from her if it was genuinely important. There was no need to keep secrets when he could just ask her directly.

With the night growing late, he decided to get some rest.

It had been a satisfying day, and he looked forward to a peaceful night of sleep.

*

Unfortunately, he did not have a dream that night.

When he woke up in the morning, Zhao Changhe felt frustrated. Damn it! When I don’t want to find you in my dream, you show up and you leave me soaked in cold sweat the entire night. But when I actually want to see you, you’re nowhere to be found!

Changing his perspective, since that blind woman hadn’t entered his dream, did that mean that the gold foil wasn’t actually anything important?

Zhao Changhe sighed with some disappointment. He took out the gold foil and examined it closely once again.

As he looked at it, he suddenly froze, then he sat up straight.

Yesterday, there had been nothing special on the gold foil. But today, there seemed to be some kind of moving image on it, and it looked mysterious and profound.

At first, it was difficult to discern what the image was, and it appeared rather abstract. However, after some careful examination, he began to see some patterns—it was as if he was witnessing a replay of his battle with Han Wubing from the previous day.

Moreover, it was all in slow motion. No wonder it looked strange at first.

The gold foil showed him delivering what appeared to be a devastating blow. Watching the battle in this manner allowed him to spot several flaws that he had not noticed during the actual fight.

Han Wubing’s method of breaking through might not have been the most optimal path to take after all. From this perspective, it seemed that there had been a more direct way to break through his defense, even if it meant himself getting injured.

It was not that Han Wubing had shown mercy, it was more so that his understanding of martial arts had not reached such a level. Because of such limitations, he could only execute the plans that his limited understanding could come up with.

It was only by observing the battle in this slow-motion replay that he was able to dissect every detail of the fight. It was through this that he could reflect on the good and the bad, improve his movements, address his vulnerabilities, and identify problems in Han Wubing’s technique.

There were indeed faults in Han Wubing’s moves, and Zhao Changhe could discern a part of them. They were not solely issues with Han Wubing’s personal cultivation and understanding of martial arts, but also problems that lay within the Sword Hut’s swordsmanship, which were the ones most troublesome to amend.

The next time they fought, Han Wubing might just find himself overwhelmed in a matter of seconds.

Additionally, dissecting the movements in slow motion allowed Zhao Changhe to learn from Han Wubing’s techniques. This was a far more intuitive and effective way of learning martial arts than sneaking into some martial arts school to learn a particular style.

Zhao Changhe’s hands were trembling.

This is an incredible treasure! It’s precisely the kind of treasure I need the most! Without a renowned teacher or mentor, I have to learn everything on my own. Now, as long as I have a brain and the ability to summarize, then the slow-motion replays on this gold foil can be the best mentor that I could have ever asked for!

It was precisely due to the lack of time that he lacked experience. Even if he were to fight countless battles, it would still be extremely difficult to make up for the time he had missed. But now, with the ability to summarize the experiences of a battle, each battle could be worth as much as fighting blindly a hundred times!

Was he lacking in extensive knowledge and exposure to various styles and techniques from different schools? Well, now, as long as he fought a few more battles, the Sword Hut’s techniques would become as apparent as a naked girl right before him.

Even if this was not a part of the Heavenly Tome, as the Heavenly Tome would probably be even more impressive, for Zhao Changhe, this was already priceless!

It really was strange, though. Yesterday, he had tried every possible method he could think of, but the gold foil had shown no reaction. Why had it suddenly and inexplicably begun replaying the battle? Could it be that it had a fixed schedule and only replayed a battle on the day after it?

I can’t figure it out. There should be a key point here that I have not found yet. If I manage to find it, I might be able to find other functions that the gold foil has besides replaying battles.

What was the difference between yesterday and today?

Yesterday was the beginning of summer, and today, it’s summer. It’s possible that it has something to do with that. After all, this was related to the summoning of the divine sword. It’s possible that the gold foil was avoiding the beginning of summer.

It is also possible that the blood I dripped, as well as... the other liquid, needed a day to take effect.

If that’s how it’s decided, then I might have to consider how I had an encounter with a woman yesterday... Although we didn’t go all the way, in essence, it still... No, according to the theory Instructor Sun taught me, there is a distinction in martial arts theory. Guiding oneself to release does not count, so what happened yesterday probably doesn’t really count, either.

If this really is the deciding factor, would it reveal even more profound effects after a genuine union of yin and yang?

So, are you the Heavenly Tome or the Book of Bliss and Great Joy?