Xia Lan: From Meeting a Martial Arts Girl

Chapter 12 Descendants of the Xia Lan

weekend.

In an alley in the old town.

Several young people in sportswear were chatting at the entrance of the martial arts school.

Upon seeing Lu Siye approach, one of the boys sized him up.

"From a martial arts club?"

Lu Siye nodded.

"New here, huh?" The boy smiled. "Go on in, meet on the first floor."

Lu Siye walked inside.

He stood at the doorway and looked around.

I didn't see Su Nian.

"Lu Siye."

The sound came from upstairs.

He looked up and saw Su Nian standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at him.

"Come up."

Lu Siye walked through the crowd and went upstairs.

Someone behind them whispered, "Who's that? Did Su Nian come to pick him up personally?"

"I don't know, maybe he's new here."

"Su Nian usually ignores everyone, why is she so attentive to this freshman?"

"It's none of your business, it's their problem."

Lu Siye ignored the noise and followed Su Nian upstairs.

The second floor is a little smaller than the first floor, but it's still quite spacious.

The window was open, and the wind blew in, carrying with it the unique, lively atmosphere of the old town.

Everyone is here.

Baozi was the first to see him, and she waved excitedly, "Brother Lu! Over here!"

He stood by the window, with Xiaoman beside him, squatting on the ground, seemingly looking at something.

Zhou Che leaned against the wall, holding a book in his hand. When he saw Lu Siye come in, he pushed up his glasses as a greeting.

Yi Songjin stood at the innermost part, with his back to the window. Sunlight streamed in from behind him, obscuring his expression.

"Here it comes," he said.

Lu Siye nodded: "Uncle Yi."

"Try gathering Qi first," Yi Songjin said. "See if you've missed any this week."

Lu Siye found a place to stand and closed his eyes.

Gather energy.

Following the method taught by Yi Songjin, he tried to sense the primordial energy within his body.

I haven't practiced for a week, so I'm a bit rusty.

But it's much better than the first time; at least I didn't lose my balance and fall.

He could feel that faint current of energy flowing slowly through his body.

It was very slow and very light, like a thin thread, almost imperceptible.

He tried to make it flow more smoothly.

"It's ready," came Yi Songjin's voice.

Lu Siye opened his eyes.

Yi Songjin nodded: "It's better than last time. The foundation is still there, it hasn't been neglected."

Baozi leaned closer, grinning, "Brother Lu, you're much faster than me. It took me three months to get the hang of it when I was gathering Qi."

Xiaoman also looked up and whispered, "Me too..."

Lu Siye remained silent.

Yi Songjin looked at Su Nian: "You'll teach me how to unleash Qi?"

Su Nian hummed in agreement.

Yi Songjin didn't say much, walked to the side, and gave her the space.

Su Nian stood in front of Lu Siye, her expression indifferent.

"You know the principle of Qi bursting forth, right?"

Lu Siye thought for a moment and said, "Gather Qi, accumulate Qi, and release Qi."

"Yes," Su Nian said, "First, we need to draw in the primordial energy from the outside world, integrate it with the energy within our bodies, condense it, and then release it."

She paused, then continued, "The most important thing is to feel the energy of heaven and earth. In places like mountains and by the water, the primordial energy is abundant and easy to perceive. But it's different in the city; there's too much reinforced concrete, and the primordial energy is thin. You can only absorb a little bit, so take it slowly."

Lu Siye nodded.

"Give it a try."

Lu Siye closed his eyes again.

Absorbing Qi.

He tried to sense the primordial energy around him.

But I can't feel anything.

There was only the wind, the sound of cars outside the window, and the faint sounds of laughter coming from downstairs.

He tried to go a little deeper.

There's still nothing there.

Gather energy.

The thin thread inside my body is still there, but it can't coalesce.

It's too weak, as weak as a single hair, it would fall apart at the slightest touch.

Explosive Qi...

He tried several times, but failed.

He opened his eyes and saw Su Nian looking at him.

"No," he said.

Su Nian didn't speak, she just nodded.

Baozi whispered from the side, "Brother Lu, don't rush. The Qi Burst is the hardest part; it took me half a year to master it."

Xiaoman nodded in agreement: "Me too... half a year..."

Lu Siye remained silent.

He knew he couldn't rush things.

But there was still a sense of frustration.

Su Nian suddenly asked, "How's your physical fitness?"

Lu Siye was stunned for a moment: "What?"

"Physical ability." Su Nian looked at him. "Burning Qi requires physical support. Your physical ability is too poor. Even if you gather it, you won't be able to release it."

Lu Siye remained silent for a few seconds.

He looked down at himself.

She has thin arms and legs, and really doesn't have much meat on her bones.

Baozi scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "Brother Lu, don't be fooled by my belly fat, I'm actually all muscle."

He lifted his shirt, revealing his belly.

There is definitely meat in it.

But the outline of abdominal muscles can be vaguely seen under the belly.

Xiaoman whispered, "I run every day..."

Zhou Che put down his book and spoke, a rare occurrence for him: "Physical fitness is the foundation of Xia Lan's training. It's normal that you can't keep up since you haven't trained before."

Lu Siye remained silent.

Su Nian glanced at him and said, "Perfect timing, the club members downstairs are all training. You can train with them for a while and improve your physical fitness."

Lu Siye thought for a moment and nodded.

"OK."

Training has already begun downstairs.

More than twenty people stood in several rows, practicing horse stance.

The boxing instructor was a middle-aged man, dressed in a training uniform, walking back and forth at the front of the group with his hands behind his back.

"Straighten your back! Sit down! Don't sway!"

Lu Siye stood in the last row and joined in the horse stance.

One minute.

Okay.

Two minutes.

My legs started to ache.

three minutes.

I started sweating.

five minutes.

My legs started to tremble.

He gritted his teeth and persevered.

The people around him were much more composed than him, standing as still as wooden stakes, barely sweating at all.

The middle-aged man walked over, glanced at him, said nothing, and then walked away.

Lu Siye knew what he was looking at.

Let's see how long he can hold out.

ten minutes.

He couldn't hold on any longer.

My legs went weak and I almost knelt down.

He quickly grabbed the wall next to him and gasped for breath.

The middle-aged man glanced at him but remained silent.

Su Nian stood to the side, her face expressionless.

But she handed me a bottle of water.

Lu Siye took it and took a sip.

"Take your time," she said.

During breaks, club members would sit on the ground in small groups, chatting.

Lu Siye sat in the corner, listening to their conversation.

"Hey, have you guys heard? There's been a lot of talk about that Xia Lan thing online lately."

"I heard about it. They say Jiugongling has been sealed off, and people from higher up are investigating."

"Really?"

"I don't know. I don't believe it. What era are we living in? Still talking about Xia Lan?"

"My grandfather said he saw it when he was young. He said a chivalrous hero passed through their village and saved someone."

"Who can say for sure what happened in your grandfather's generation?"

"And what about you? Do you believe it or not?"

"What's the use of me believing or not? If the Xia Lan really exist, they should at least show themselves. Right now, there's not even a shadow of them."

Someone suddenly looked at Su Nian.

"Su Nian, do you believe in the Xia Lan?"

Su Nian was drinking water when she heard the question and paused for a moment.

Then she put down the water bottle and said calmly, "That's me."

There was a moment of silence.

Then someone laughed.

"Hahaha, Su Nian, stop joking."

"Exactly, you're a Xia Lan? Then I'm still Zero."

"Come, come, let me see your Xia Lan Seal."

Someone stretched out their hand, showing their wrist.

There was a crooked drawing on it, clearly drawn with a ballpoint pen.

"Look, I also have the Xia Lan Seal."

Others joined in the commotion, each revealing their own "Xia Lan Seal".

Some were painted on, some were stickers, and one had a stone tied with a red string, which was said to be "Xia Lan Jade".

Su Nian looked at them, her face expressionless.

No explanation was given.

He didn't refute it.

Lu Siye, watching from the side, suddenly understood.

If you tell the truth, nobody will believe you.

From the outside, Xia Lan are no different from ordinary people.

There was no glowing light, no special effects, and none of the flashy stuff you see in movies.

They are just ordinary people.

I only know a little bit of things that others don't.

That's it.

As evening fell, the club members gradually left.

Lu Siye stayed behind to help Su Nian clean.

Baozi and the others were preparing dinner upstairs. Baozi's laughter and Xiaoman's occasional voice could be heard across the stairs.

Lu Siye took a broom and swept the dust off the ground.

Su Nian was wiping the mirror beside her, her movements very light and slow.

Lu Siye suddenly spoke.

"Isn't the power of the Xia Lan too weak?"

Su Nian paused for a moment.

She turned her head and looked at him.

Lu Siye didn't look at her and continued sweeping.

"Baozi said that what they encountered that night was just the most basic zero," he said. "If it's just the most basic, the army could handle it, right? Then what's the point of having Xia Lan?"

Su Nian remained silent for a few seconds.

Then she put down the rag, turned around, and leaned against the mirror.

"Did Baozi tell you that?"

"Um."

Su Nian looked at him, her expression unchanged.

But he did not get angry.

"He's right," she said. "What we encountered that night was indeed the most basic zero. That kind of zero has no self-awareness, it only knows how to attack instinctively, and the military can definitely handle that."

Lu Siye waited for her to continue.

"But there's more than one kind of zero," Su Nian said. "Ancient texts record that zero comes in many forms. The most common one is the one without consciousness. Above that, there are the seven souls."

Lu Siye was taken aback: "Seven Souls?"

"The Seven Souls are zeros with self-awareness," Su Nian said. "They can think, speak, and plan. When they possess a person, they don't simply occupy the body, but merge with the host. The military has absolutely no way to deal with those zeros."

She paused, then continued, "Further up, there are three more souls."

Lu Siye remained silent.

Three souls and seven spirits.

He had heard of that word before.

That's the legendary, most powerful Zero.

"The zero-level enemies we're facing right now aren't enough to warrant the deployment of the Xia Lan," Su Nian said. "Most of them can be handled by the military. But once we encounter something like the Seven Souls, we'll have to rely on the Xia Lan."

She looked at Lu Siye, her gaze calm.

"That's why we need to cultivate."

Lu Siye stood there, broom in hand.

Outside the window, it was getting dark, and the streetlights in the alley came on, casting a dim yellow light through the window onto the floor.

He stared at the light and remained silent for a long time.

"Seven Souls," he suddenly spoke, "How powerful are they?"

Su Nian thought for a moment.

"My dad said that one of the seven souls can destroy a town."

Lu Siye remained silent.

Su Nian continued, "The Xia Lan are still in the recruitment phase. There are definitely other Xia Lan in the civilian world, but many have already gone into hiding and are unwilling to come out."

"Why don't you want to?"

"Because of the price," Su Nian said. "Being a Xia Lan comes at a price. Protecting others means taking risks yourself. Not everyone is willing to do that."

Lu Siye lowered his head, looking at the broom in his hand.

After a while, he asked, "And what about you?"

Su Nian looked at him.

Why are you willing to do this?

Su Nian remained silent for a few seconds.

Then she turned around and continued wiping the mirror.

"Because I am a descendant of the Xia Lan," she said. "It's what I should do."

Lu Siye looked at her face reflected in the mirror, but couldn't see her expression.

The sound of steamed buns coming from the stairs.

"Brother Lu! Sister Su Nian! Dinner's ready!"

Su Nian put down the rag and walked outside.

She paused at the door and turned around.

"Will you come again tomorrow?"

Lu Siye looked at her and nodded.

"Come."

Su Nian hummed in agreement and turned to go downstairs.