Chapter 45 Civil and military recruiting relatives, the son returns home 【2】
This forest on the outskirts of the city was a good place for Cao Xi and Xia Houxuan to practice martial arts and play together when they were young. Therefore, except for them, no one else would notice this forest.
The dense trees are natural obstacles for practicing body and footwork. In actual combat, you and your opponents often compete in this environment, not the regular wooden stakes in the martial arts field.
A regular pattern composed of wooden figures.
At this moment, looking from a distance, there is a faint red light flickering in the forest. It turns out that it is Cao Xi who is practicing with the dragon scale sword. He usually does not use the dragon scale when practicing swords, but this time he is planning to marry him.
, it is not a trivial matter for me. Using this magical weapon will naturally get twice the result with half the effort, which will be of great benefit.
I saw Cao Xi using a sword as a sword, swinging the sword like the wind. While using the "Cloud Walking Rain Step" passed down by Xiahou Cao's family, he shuttled back and forth between the trees. At the same time, he used the family's sword skills to block and slash.
Looking at the branches and leaves blocking the road in front of him, he saw that Cao Xi was coming and going very quickly. Wherever he passed, branches and leaves were flying, leaving traces on the trunks, which made people dazzled. After about a moment, Cao Xi lacked strength and stopped. He wiped
There was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, and he had a worried look on his face. Ah Xuan could normally walk this 'Cloud Walk and Rain Step' for half an hour. With his condition, how could he survive tomorrow's martial arts test under his cousin's hands?
Passed the test...
When he thought of this, Cao Xi did not dare to slack off and started practicing hard again.
In the distance outside the forest, Xia Houxuan looked at the faint red light in the forest and smiled warmly. Xi, a boy, never knew how to hide his emotions. He had already discovered that he liked Hui'er. If he entrusted his sister to Xi in the future, he would
You should be able to rest assured.
―――
The next day, before Chen arrived, all the young masters arrived early at the Xuanwu Field in the north of the city.
Most of the people were warming up and preparing in the Xuanwu Field, but Cao Xi stood with his eyes closed, as if he was meditating.
I saw him breathing evenly, speaking slightly, and reciting slowly and silently in his heart:
Riding six dragons and riding the wind, he traveled all over the world. He descended to the eight kingdoms, climbed high mountains, visited valleys, and carried the clouds...
This is exactly the "Qi Chu Sing" performed by Emperor Wu Cao Cao, and it is also the family martial arts and mental method of the Xiahou and Cao clans. Cao Xi is chewing his teeth at this moment.
After practicing hard last night, he finally realized his own shortcomings, that is, he was not proficient enough in the family-inherited mental method, so that he always lacked strength.
Internal strength needs to be accumulated slowly. It is naturally impossible to make a breakthrough at this time. Cao Xi just wants to relieve his tension now.
Not far away, Cao Lin, the king of Hedong, couldn't help but secretly laugh when he saw that Cao Xi was still practicing the family inheritance method at this time.
Seeing that the hour was approaching, Xia Houxuan stepped onto the competition platform in the center of the Xuanwu Field, smiled and saluted. He was wearing a white narrow-sleeved Hu suit with a sword and a ring, looking very heroic.
Everyone in the arena stopped making noise immediately when they saw Xia Houxuan on the competition stage.
"Young masters, you are well and well!" Due to the concentrated sound in the field, Xia Houxuan's voice was louder and everyone could hear him clearly.
Xia Houxuan continued: "Since everyone is here, I won't go into details. The rules of today's martial arts test are also not difficult. We only need the five young masters who passed the literary test to compete with me one by one. If we can
If you pass ninety-nine moves, you have passed the martial arts test.
Those who pass the martial arts test will be ranked among themselves, and the one who wins in the end will be the husband of the younger sister. Do you have any doubts?"
Xia Houxuan made it clear, and no one asked any more questions. The servants in the field shouted: "The five participants are asked to decide the order of entry. The competition will begin immediately!"
Cao Lin, the king of Hedong, sneered and stepped onto the ring on his own without waiting for discussion with everyone.
When Xia Houxuan saw this scene, there was a hint of coldness in his eyes. This kind of person who doesn't take others seriously is really abominable. Today, I have to give him a slap in the face! Xia Houshang, who was watching in the banquet not far away, saw
Cao Lin couldn't help but shake his head secretly when he acted like this.
"Master Xiahou," Cao Lin first made a push-hand gesture, then lowered his voice, trying not to be heard by the audience, and continued: "I know that your family's swordsmanship is among the young men of our two clans.
, it can be said that there are few rivals, if you can sell yourself off today to save face, you will definitely be repaid by snakes and birds in the future."
Hearing this, Xia Houxuan smiled slightly and said, "Today is the important matter for me to choose a good match for my sister-in-law. If your highness has real ability, you can win. No need to say more, please give me some advice!"
"Huh!" When Cao Lin heard this, his face showed a fierce look, and he slowly pulled out the sword from the sheath. He thought to himself, since he failed to win over the Xiahou family, he would teach Xiahou Xuan to shed a little blood today, so that he could understand his relationship with him.
The consequences of being against one another!
"Pheasants and pheasants crow; tigers roar and the wind rises in the valley." Cao Lin could be seen quietly reciting a line from "Folding Willows".
Originally, a person who had not yet mastered Xiahou Cao's sword skills needed to recite relevant verses to regulate his inner breath before using Xiahou Cao's sword skills. However, in order to hide his sword moves, Cao Lin prevented his opponent from being prepared.
At the risk of going crazy, I silently recited poems and attacked with mental techniques!
Shocked! Xia Houxuan did not expect that after Cao Lin drew his sword, he did not perform a martial arts ceremony according to the rules. Instead, he shouted loudly and stabbed himself directly. Everyone watching the battle exclaimed in surprise.
.
I saw that Cao Lin had no intention of finishing, and this sword was actually a complete killing move!
"Cousin, be careful!" Cao Xi was familiar with Emperor Cao Pi's various swordsmanship. When he saw Cao Lin using the killing move "Pheasant Crying and Tiger Roaring", he couldn't help shouting to remind Xiahou Xuan.
Although Xia Houxuan's sword was not unsheathed, he did not change his face in panic. He understood that with Cao Lin's internal strength, he would not be able to get a good deal if he forced the killing move in "Breaking Willows".
"As the waves become thinner, it's like a tourist." Xiahou Xuan recited a line of "Shan Zai Xing" in a loud voice. The sole of his left foot still stayed in the same place, and his body leaned back, avoiding Cao Cao.
Lin's sword sharpened, but he did not fall to the ground, and everyone couldn't help but cheer.
Cao Lin originally thought that he would hit with one hit, but he didn't know that the opponent's ability was stronger than he imagined!
As soon as Cao Lin forced himself to perform "Breaking Willows", his energy and blood went backwards, and because he was distracted for a moment, he forgot to return his sword to protect himself, and was hit in the chest by Xia Houxuan with the "Quality" scabbard.
Cao Lin felt a numbness in his chest, groaned, and fell to the ground. Cao Lin was ashamed and angry, and punched the ground hard. He didn't believe that he was defeated in less than two rounds.
When the servants of Hedong Palace saw this, they were shocked and immediately came to the stage to help His Highness.
"Your Highness accepts the offer!" Xia Houxuan said coldly.
"Xia...Xia Houxuan, you wait, wait...I will ascend to a great position in the future, and I want your Xiahou family to look good, huh!" Cao Lin stood up slowly with the help of his entourage, walked down to the competition platform and squeezed away.
The crowd headed in the direction of Daxiamen.
Everyone in the audience and the ministers watching the battle couldn't help but talk about it. Young Master Xiahou had really offended His Highness the King of Hedong this time.
The next two people to compete were Fu Gu and Zhong Yu, who usually only focused on writing and were careless in martial arts, so they were quickly defeated.
But Fu Gu didn't take it too seriously. After all, it was his father who asked him to participate in order to marry the Xiahou family. It didn't matter whether he was selected or not.
On the contrary, Zhong Yu's face was not very pretty.
Cao Xilao was a little nervous. Ah Xuan made a rule that only after ninety-nine rounds in his hands could he be selected. However, he could only fight with Ah Xuan for more than seventy moves on weekdays. What should he do?
I couldn't help but rub my palms.
"Xi, remember, don't show mercy." After the two of them performed the martial arts ceremony, Xia Houxuan said slowly to Cao Xi: "The clouds are moving, the rain is walking. The big wall is covered with wormwood."
After hearing these words, Cao Xi's eyes lit up. He and his cousin had been competing against each other or playing around since childhood. The most familiar moves were all based on the swordsmanship on the big wall and the clouds.
The footwork of Xingyu Step is the first.
Judging from what A Xuan said, could it be that he wanted to let himself go on purpose...
"Everything grows in spring, and all kinds of grass and trees rise with the strong wind. How graceful they are when they are scattered, but how independent they are in the center."
"I have been running around for four seasons, but what do I vaguely want to do now?"
"Human life dwells between heaven and earth, but suddenly it is like a bird perching on a dead branch. What do I vaguely want to do now?"
"..."
Everyone in the audience is from the capital, and they have naturally heard of the swordsmanship of the Xiahou Cao family. However, the onlookers are either ordinary people or young princes, so they have never seen it with their own eyes. Therefore, except Cao, Xia
Except for the people from the two families, most of the onlookers were mesmerized when they saw such a graceful and elegant sword technique, which was like a sword dance without losing its power.
Master Sima seemed to be integrating that swordsmanship into his eyes, and he couldn't take his eyes off it.
Xia Houshang, who was watching from the table, couldn't help but secretly praise Cao Xi, thinking that he had never paid attention to Xi'er's martial arts training in the past few years, but he didn't expect that this boy's swordsmanship had improved so much.
After a short time, the two of them had fought more than a hundred moves, and Cao Xi had passed the martial arts test.
"As expected of the son of Marquis Dongxiang, he is really good at swordsmanship..."
"These two young masters indeed have extraordinary swordsmanship. I think the son-in-law of the Xiahou family who rides a dragon must be Mr. Cao Xi..."
"Let's see how Mr. Sima does..."
The officials and people who were watching were talking about it. In the midst of this uproar, Master Sima, who was the last to appear, slowly came onto the stage, smiled warmly at Xia Houxuan, and raised his hands to salute. Xia Houxuan also returned the courtesy. Although he has always been confident, but
However, he has never fought with this Sima Master, so he naturally does not know the details. Moreover, I heard that Sima Master learned the art of fencing from the late Shangshu Cui Yan when he was young. He should not be underestimated. [Note 1: "
"Three Kingdoms·Book of Wei 12·Cui Yan Biography": "Cui Yan, also known as Ji Gui, was a native of Wucheng in the east of Qinghe River. He was simple and naive, good at fencing and good at martial arts."]
"Brother Xiahou, please enlighten me."
"Brother Sima, please."
With a 'crack' sound, both of them struck very quickly. Since neither of them dared to underestimate the other, from the moment they drew their swords, both of them were working hard.
Master Sima had just witnessed the famous swordsmanship of Cao Xia in the Central Plains. He thought to himself that if the opponent used the swordsmanship just now, he would be no match for him. Fortunately, the swordsmanship required reading a poem from the heart in order to use it smoothly. Instead, it became like this
A big flaw in swordsmanship.
This big flaw is that it takes time, so Master Sima was competing for time from the beginning, competing for time for Xia Houxuan to recite the mind method!
Because he was taught a fast pace by Master Sima, Xia Houxuan was not as handy with the sword as usual, and he did not have time to use the sword skills taught by monks, so he felt that everything was unsatisfactory. Fortunately, he still had the quality to wield this sharp weapon in his hand.
', Xia Houxuan smiled faintly, secretly increasing his wrist strength, trying to cut off the opponent's weapon in one fell swoop.
"Zheng!" There was only a clear sound of fine iron clashing. When the swords touched each other, sparks flew out. However, the sword in Master Sima's hand was still intact and had not been cut off as Xia Houxuan thought. The two of them
The swords were fighting against each other, and while they were wrestling, Xia Houxuancai noticed the sword in Master Sima's hand. He saw that the light of the sword was like a shooting star, with faint purple light flowing. It turned out to be the 'Fying Shadow' sword given to Sima Yi by His Majesty when he was in the East Palace.
[Note 2] No wonder the 'quality' kept chipping away at it. When Xia Houxuan suddenly realized it, he also felt quite frustrated. The opponent's sword was in his hand, and it was powerful. He was even forced to use the swordsmanship passed down from his family. It seemed that he was bound to lose today.
No doubt about it.
[Note 2: Cao Pi's "Dian Lun": "Select the best gold, order the workers of other countries to refine it, and refine it. As for the hundred swords, it is called three swords: one is called Fijing (Tongying), the second is called Liucai, and the third is called Liucai.
The Hua collar is four feet and two inches long and weighs fifteen ten taels per catty. It is tempered with clear zhang, decorated with jade and decorated with rhinoceros."]
"Sima Master, this boy is really not simple..." Xia Houshang couldn't help but murmured, and it seemed that he also admired that Sima Master very much.
Sure enough, after more than a hundred moves, Master Sima defeated Xia Houxuan. The martial arts test finally ended as scheduled, leaving only the competition between Master Sima and Cao Xi tomorrow.
God, you can show your favor to Xi Di and teach him to win the championship in one fell swoop tomorrow...
It was late at night, and Xia Houhui couldn't sleep in his mansion. I heard that he passed his brother's martial arts test. I wonder if he will win tomorrow...
The next day, there was no wind. The sky seemed to be blinded by something, making the whole sky a gray color.
Since today was the day of decisive victory, more people gathered in the Xuanwu Field than usual. Everyone really wanted to know who the Xiahou family's son-in-law Chenglong Kuai would be.
"Who do you think will come out on top today and take home the beauty?" I saw a rich man outside the venue, with two attendants beside him. One attendant was holding a five-spice plate of condiments [Note 3], and the other was
One was holding a pottery pot of braised meat. The young man was eating happily and chatting with others.
[Note 3: Five spicy dishes, a kind of platter snack during the Three Kingdoms period. There is also a saying that it is a seasoning platter composed of five spicy things such as garlic and onions. 】
"I think it's Young Master Cao Xi. Didn't you see the competition between him and Young Master Xiahou yesterday? Tsk, tsk, tsk, that swordsmanship was really amazing."
"Hey, don't forget. Yesterday, Mr. Cao Xi and Mr. Xiahou were only in a draw. However, Mr. Sima defeated Mr. Xiahou in more than a hundred moves."
"Boom... Chen time has arrived, the competition begins!"
"It's begun, it's begun..." Everyone opened their eyes and looked towards the competition platform.
"Xi, come on!" Xia Houxuan smiled warmly at Cao Xi, and Cao Xi nodded heavily.
"Boom...the competition begins!"
"Brother Sima, please."
"Master Cao, please." Master Sima still smiled tepidly and pushed his hands in return.
Both of them drew their swords slowly. Master Sima didn't know Cao Xi's real background. He struck steadily and did not try to be quick. Cao Xi continued to choose the "Cloud Walking Rain Step" movement technique that he was most familiar with.
, dealing with Master Sima. Due to the extremely fast speed of the two, everyone in the audience could not clearly see the battle situation. They could only see the flashing red and purple light of the famous weapons in their hands, reflecting each other.