Starts in Silence, Ends in Silence

That night, Su Yang suffered from insomnia again.

Since he arrived in this world, besides feeling muddle-headed for the first three days, he would drown his sorrows, which helped him enter dreamland quicker. Two nights after he left the Evil Sect, he would suffer from insomnia until dawn.

A quiet night like this was the easiest time to cause people to get lost in their heads, even for someone as slow-witted as Su Yang, who would inevitably be affected after such incomprehensible upheaval.

Not to mention the ancient background setting, where the majority of people turn in for the night after nightfall—compared to modern life, the night was still young. Not being accustomed to this sleeping schedule was very normal.

Furthermore, he also knew this sort of night-owl habit could not be erased in such a short period. 

Listening to Fan Xi’s snoring from the other end of the bed, he turned over to get up from the bed. Groping about in the dark, he took out a thin manual from his sack, and walked softly out the door. 

The courtyard was quiet, and the old man by the door had returned to his room to rest. It was as if Su Yang was the only one alive in heaven and earth, accompanied by the bright moon and the vast stars in the sky.

In this cloudless night, the moon was between waning gibbous and a full moon, illuminating the dead of night. Su Yang opened his Divide Lotus Technique and gazed attentively at the writing and the illustrations.

Although he transmigrated into the body of an extremely talented and gifted Young Master of the Evil Sect, it didn’t imply he could live a worry-free lifestyle, and be idly killing time.

On the contrary, it was precisely because he transmigrated into the Young Master of the Evil Sect, that he knew there would be numerous combat scenes in the future, so he must work harder to master all the Young Master’s martial art skills as soon as possible, reaching the level that the original young master had achieved.

Otherwise, it was likely that he would perish in some bizarre circumstance before he reached midway. 

There was no law in this world, others would not tolerate him, as they didn’t know his origin. He could only rely on his own efforts to survive in this world, and put all his energy into moving the plot forward.

Perhaps only in this way could he finally return to his real world by completing the story. 

He repeatedly went through the first few pages of the Divide Lotus Technique several times, keeping in mind the internal energy movement and the linking of sword movements recorded on the pages.

Then he put the book in his waistband and took out the soft sword by his waist.

The blade of this sword was only about two centimetres wide. It was very thin, yet extremely tough. It was not like a sharp tool, but rather more like a flexible whip.

Su Yang had never practiced martial arts.

At most, he performed a flowery form of fists with fancy footwork under a martial art instructor’s guidance during his time filming. 

But he knew how to dance.

The reason he could become a web celebrity was that he had participated in a dance talent competition.

When he was on the set of Arch-Enemy, he was the only young actor who didn’t use a martial arts stunt double, as he was blessed with his basic dancing skills. In the beginning, the crew took this as the selling point and released a wave of positive energy publicity for him.

Fortunately, the Evil Sect’s martial arts style was very elegant and graceful on the surface. Even though he had never practiced martial arts, his dance skills alone could hit some of the prime points.

Through the moonlight, he used the moves described on the first few pages of the Divide Lotus Technique one by one and repeated them several times. Once he was getting the hang of the motions, he added internal energy, trying to combine the two.

However, martial arts, especially the content of fictional martial arts, differed greatly from dancing.

He practiced for a long time until he was sweating all over, until the moon tilted to the west, and until the sky was duskier than midnight. Yet, he still failed to master the coordination between circulating the internal energy and into his martial art moves.

Having an exhausted body and depressed mood, Su Yang felt extremely upset and wanted to vent.

He stopped his training, looked down at the sword in his hand, and suddenly remembered the song, Drunkard's Drooping Whip, that he had danced to in a competition. 

His sword pointed to the ground.

Suddenly, he raised his body up in one bound, following the melody in his heart, throwing out circular arcs with his whip-like sword.

His eyes were shut and with graceful footsteps and a flexible waist, he danced in the empty homestead courtyard, twirling on in the increasingly dark night and under the brilliant light emitted from the morning star on the horizon.

He did not use internal energy, relying only on the purest physical power, to interpret the softness and rigidity with the ultimate explosive force, vividly and thoroughly. 

This brief dance started in silence, and ended in silence.

Gasping for breath, Su Yang stooped to pick up his manual, which had fallen to the ground during his dance, and returned it into his waistband. He gathered a handful of spread out hair and slowly walked back into his room with his sword.

When the door closed noiselessly, the world regained its tranquility. 

A faint ray of grey-blue light glimmered from the east.

Behind the  open gap of a window, Gu Feidi stared at the trampled dust in the yard for a long period of time, then lowered his gaze and turned away.

After a while, he pushed open the door and walked out to the courtyard where he began his necessary daily morning training.

On the bed in the other room, the old man sat up slowly and opened his eyes at the same speed, and mumbled to himself, “There are many good youngsters this year…”

As the sky began to brighten, Xu Yunzhan and Pu Lingyun both got up and arrived at Gu Feidi’s side to practice martial arts with him.

As if woken up by the three’s racket, many other candidates also got up one after another to do some simple daily training on the field.

When the sun hung in the sky, the old man leisurely exited the homestead.

He didn’t greet the young contenders in the courtyard either, only going back to his outdoor chair by the farmhouse gate and resting his eyes.

When there were finally more than twenty people gathered outside of the homestead, a middle-aged man with a gentle face came down from the mountain road, stood and observed beyond the farmhouse.

“Old Qi.” The middle-aged man bowed to the old man on the rocking chair and questioned, “Did you find any good seedlings among the candidates last night?”

Not bothering to open his eyes, the old man said lightly, “Those who have risen early to practice in the hours of the dragonThe two-hour subdivisions used in ancient time. The time was divided into the twelve zodiac animals. are considered diligent. Take them to the next assessment.”

Hearing this, the man shifted his attention to the courtyard and said smiling, “Oh? There are so many good young candidates.” 

He walked toward the homestead, using a voice as if amplified by a speaker, “Ones that woke early and refined their martial arts, pack your things, and follow me up the mountain.”

The group of young contenders had already gradually stopped their training and attentively listened to their conversation before the middle-aged man made the announcement. When they heard him declaring the conclusion of this assessment, they all showed an expression of excitement. One by one, they went forward to make their salutations before returning to their rooms to pack things up.

Suddenly, one of them asked smirking, “Say, why didn’t I see the demon spawn out here?”

Another person immediately agreed, “Rumour was that people in the Evil Sect are lazy. I’m afraid that he is used to a scene of prosperity with Orioles singing and swallows dancing. Maybe he will sleep until noon!”

Another one said grinning, “It’s a pity that the insufferably arrogant young master was met with his unfortunate end here. Who would have thought?” Followed by mocking laughter. 

“I say that the House of Jade is not only based on gifted talent. If one doesn’t work hard, they shouldn’t have attempted the selection!”

“This brother’s statement is right!”

Pu Lingyun listened to everyone’s complaints and finally found the chance to jump in. With a sneer, she rushed toward Gu Feidi and uttered, “Xiao Shixiong, that demon spawn is so lazy, a waste of talent, really. His future achievements will certainly not be as good as yours! Humph! As he is still trying in vain to…”

“Lingyun, don’t continue.” Gu Feidi’s eyes downcast as he secretly and unconsciously clenched his hands into fists.

His lips pursed up and said in a deep voice, “We don’t have the right to judge a person whom we can’t see at all times.”

Pu Lingyun was shocked. “Xiao Shixiong?”

Gu Feidi added. “If you say too much, you're bound to slip up at some point. Don’t speak behind people’s backs. Let’s go.”

Feeling a little reluctant, she nonetheless obediently closed her mouth, followed Gu Feidi to the farmhouse, and stood beside the middle-aged man.

Gu Feidi’s gaze focused on the middle-aged man for a moment, but couldn’t help but shift his attention to the side room’s door.

Seeing no movement from the door, his expression changed as he turned around, looking at the man beside him. He opened and closed his lips lightly as if he was hesitant to say something.

However, he didn’t share his thoughts but clenched his hands into tighter fists.

Su Yang was woken up from his sleep by Fan Xi.

He opened his eyes in a daze, and it took him a long time to realise that the sky was already bright.

“Young Master! My deepest apologies!” Fan Xi looked at him at a loss, and couldn’t stop apologising. “It’s all my fault! When I got up early to train, I couldn’t bear to wake you up because you were sleeping so soundly. But who would know…that this is the assessment.”

Hearing Fan Xi’s words, Su Yang quiveringly got up from his bed, not bothering to tidy up his clothes as he pushed open the door to look out toward the courtyard. 

At this time, the middle-aged man had gathered all the young men who got up early to train, preparing to depart. 

In the yard, there were some young contenders who slept in, all of them in deep sorrow, faces full of frustration.

The strangest thing was, when everyone saw Su Yang, who was propped against the doorframe with a panicked face and his outfit untied, whether they were satisfied or extremely upset, they all uniformly changed to a kind of tacit gloating.

“Young Master…” Fan Xi hesitatingly called out.

Su Yang’s eyes swept over the faces of everyone in the courtyard and finally stopped on Gu Feidi, whose expression from a distance was unclear.

At one glance, his anxiety suddenly calmed down.

That was right, in any case, as long as Gu Feidi entered the House of Jade, the plot would not deviate too much. At least there was no more interaction between him and Gu Feidi in this arc. There was no difference between being eliminated here or in the next assessment. 

Besides, the current situation was his own fault for not requesting  Fan Xi last night to wake him early. He had to reap what he had sown自食其果 to eat one's own fruit (idiom); fig. suffering the consequences of one's own action..

Thinking of this, he leaned over the door frame, pulled the corner of his lips to express a lazy smile, and asked Fan Xi, “You made it?”

Fan Xi nodded awkwardly.

Su Yang raised his chin. “Then why aren’t you moving? I am so sleepy, I will return to my room to rest…”

After that, he turned around and entered the room, not showing the slightest grief, which made everyone out in the courtyard thoroughly dumbfounded.