As they made their way through the dense forest, he walked beside the young lady while her two remaining bodyguards carried the unconscious Uncle Yao.
The massive boar carcass was left behind, too heavy to transport and not worth the effort.
"May I know your honored name?" She asked, stealing glances at him as they navigated the dense forest.
"Shi Jing," He replied simply, keeping his voice neutral. The less he revealed, the better this misunderstanding would serve him.
"I am Ming Muwan, daughter of the Ming family." She paused, seeming to weigh her words carefully.
Shi family name? She has never heard of this cultivation family before…
"Sir Jing, may I ask... which sect or manor are you from? Is it the Cloud Sword Manor? Or the Yellow River Sect?"
He remained silent. Seeing this, she didn't probe further and asked no further.
As they emerged from the forest onto a well-maintained road, Ming Muwan tension seemed to ease slightly. In the distance, he could see the imposing walls of a giant city. The architecture was impressive, the walls were so tall and wide he couldn't even see the end of it.
As they approached the main gate, he noticed the guards' appearance. They were wearing heavy armor. Each of their movement would create flapping noises, this was the result of their armor hitting each other.
"This way," She whispered and gestured toward the smaller gate on the side. He didn't say much and followed her.
"Stop!" One of the guard shout. His eyes scrutinized their appearance. When it stopped at Ming Muwan, his face formed a slight smile.
"Miss Muwan," He said, looking at the injured Uncle Yao, then back at her," It seemed like you encountered a mishaps on your way back."
Although his words resemble an old friend concern for her wellbeing, there was an underlying intent.
Hearing this, she frowned. Shi Jing could feel the tension rising in the air, and he thought they were acquaintaint, clearly they were enemy!
She didn't response to his remark and pulled out a badge,"Let us through!"
His eyes narrowed at the sight of the badge, there was some hesitation on his face as he grunted," So what if you have some status? If not for your father's status being a disciple of the Cloud Sword Manor, your Ming family would be nothing!"
As they walk passed him, his murmur was barely audible. This must have been on done purpose.
Only after they entered the city did she finally spoke again.
"I apologize for showing you a disgraceful sight…"
"No need," He said, shaking his head. It wasn't his problem to intervene and it was not directed toward him, why would it affect him?
This attitude only serves make her admired Shi Jing even more. He didn't care much for her thought. His mind was impatiently waiting for the chance to obtain that sword art.
The Ming estate was located toward the inner circle of the city. After a long walk, they finally stood in front of the estate entrance.
"Miss Muwan, welcome back!" The guard greeted, then his eyes saw the injured Uncle Yao.
"W-What happened?" He stuttered and walked forward to help carry the man down.
"We encountered desolate beasts on our way back. I was barely able to kill them before returning to the city." She said, then gesture for him to carry uncle Yao inside for treatment.
Then, she turned her head toward him and said," Follow me, Father should still be in the family hall."
He nodded, then take a step past their doorstep.
The moment he did, he noticed a flashing notification from the system.
[System Notification: Sword Art detected. One Autumn Stroke (Incomplete) has been automatically recorded...]
[Sword Art: One Autumn Stroke (Incomplete)]
[Sword Art: Spring Mist Cloud (Incomplete)]
[Cultivation Art: Iron Body Transformation Technique (Major Mastery)]
The autumn wind is cold and the cloud were dark above.
The gate of the Ming estate was luxurious. White marbled stone, an old wooden gate and exquisite lantern.
His feet froze midair, not from the autumn wind or incoming storm, but from the shock from the notification of the system.
At this moment, gravity dragged down on his feet, causing him to take a step involuntarily.
The dust flew and his Inner Qi came alive, as if it had a will of its own. The image of Ming Muwan displaying the Autumn Stroke appear in his mind, then his finger unknowingly performing a sword stroke.
Ming Muwan noticed Shi Jing abrupt pause and turned around. His movement stunt her and her gaze was fixated on his finger, but he didn't care at this moment.
His mind seemed to endlessly loop on the single moment in the past, the moment of the final sword stroke as it pierced the boar flesh.
It was as though he was holding a sword and dancing with the wind.
Sha!
A slicing sound came. Was it due to the piercing wind? Or was it his finger slicing through the air? He didn't know.
Then his mind cleared. In his view, the word in the system changed.
[Sword Art: One Autumn Stroke (Minor Mastery)]
It was at this moment that he knew, he have grasped the basic movement of the One Autumn Stroke!
"S-Sir, this!" She stammered, her voice was barely contained within her shock. The scabbard of her sword tremble slightly as she looked at him like he was a ghost.
Seeing this, he can't help but let out a wry chuckle.
"I remembered your sword dance and simply copied it, you don't mind right?"
His response seemed to only made her speculation of his status more wild and unfathomable, but again, he couldn't bring himself to explain to her the truth.
Not to mention, he wasn't exactly a native of this world anyways.
"May we?" He said, gesturing for her to lead the way.
"Y-Yes!" She nodded, quickly recovering her demeanor and led him to the family hall. He could tell from her expression that her respect for him has grew a considerable amount.
This made him a little embarrassed, but after recalling that sword art, it washed away.
Did he comprehend the sword art because of the system? Or did the system recorded the sword art because he comprehended it?
At the thought of this, he shook his head.
At the same time, his sense were alerted as he turned behind him. Not far from the rooftop of the Ming estate, there was a lingering shadow. From this view, it looked ordinary.
But after facing life and death many times, he knew what this sensation was.
"Killing intent!" Someone is watching him, or rather, their movement. Combine with the clues from that man at the gate entrance, he had his own speculations.
It seems like the Ming family is family a crisis… I hope this doesn't affect me…
As he followed Ming Muwan, he realized her status was more extraordinary than what he speculated. Similarly, the Ming estate, or family in that regard, was more than just a regular noble family.
From the whispers and hearsay, her father, Ming Feng, entered the Cloud Sword Manor as a disciple at a young age and brought the Ming family to prosperity.
This… How prestigious and influential is the Cloud Sword Manor to be able to allow a single disciple to bring such prosperity to a family?
It is rumored that Ming Feng was an exalt sword immortal, but this was from the mouth of the commoner. If Ming Feng was a sword immortal, how could their current situation be explained?
Then, the rumor of Ming Muwan's older brother, Ming Ye, appear. Hearing this, he nodded lightly.
The current state of the Ming family must be related to Ming Ye.
His thought ran wild before he quell them and stood facing two guard standing in front of a circular courtyard entrance.
"Miss Muwan." They greeted, then looked toward him with a narrowed look.
"This is Sir Jing, I hope to introduce him to father, it is important." Ming Muwan stepped forward to block their line of sight. Her choice of words was carefully crafted and there was a hint of authority to them.
Seeing this, their expression tensed a little, then relaxed and moved out the way.
"Your father is waiting for you inside."
She nodded and stepped inside, he followed as well, not paying these two any attention.
The circular courtyard opened into a serene garden, with carefully arranged rocks and a small pond reflecting the darkening sky. However, the tranquility felt forced, as if someone was desperately trying to maintain normalcy despite underlying chaos.
At the center sat a pavilion made of dark wood, and within it, a figure that immediately commanded respect.
This figure is Ming Feng of the Ming family.
Ming Feng looked to be in his fifties, with graying hair tied in a traditional topknot. His bearing was still noble, but there was something off about the way he sat.
His left sleeve hung slightly loose, and when he moved to gesture them forward, the motion was minutely hesitant, as if compensating for something.