Chapter 282: Word Sprite
Ye Qing released his spirit, and as Chu Qingge said, there were chatterings coming from ahead of them. In fact, the voices sounded quite childish. It was a bunch of children seemingly arguing with each other about something.
“It’s all your fault, Thought! It’s all your fault! It’s your fault he got scared and ran away!”
“Yeah, yeah! We haven’t had enough fun yet!”
“Why are you blaming me only when Sword scared that human as well?”
“Yeah, yeah! It wasn’t just Sword either. Saber, Fist and Stick were all part of the scare as well!”
“Ghost also turned into a ghost as well.”
“Snow didn’t just scare that human, he even spoke to him directly!”
“Hmph! That human’s just too timid.”
“Yeah, he’s a scaredy-cat. He’s even more chicken than I am!”
“Yeah, he’s such a chicken. He’s even more chicken than Small.”
“I’m not chicken! My name is Small, but my courage is big! Coward is the one real chicken in our group!”
“Who are you calling a chicken? At the very least, I’m not so chicken that I would piss my pants because I got scared!”
“Yeah, yeah! That human is seriously chicken. He lost a shoe when he was running away!”
“And he pissed his pants!”
......
At first, it sounded like the voices were pinning the blame on each other. However, they got distracted later on and started discussing who was the biggest chicken of them all. Then, they got hanged up about the guy they scared off with their antics.
Strangely, Ye Qing couldn’t see anyone no matter where he looked. He was still looking when Chu Qingge pointed at a nearby gravestone, “Look! That gravestone!”
It was a gravestone that was made white jade, and it was engraved with countless fly-sized ancient scripts. Although the text was small, Ye Qing could tell that they looked strong, elegant, and full of intent. Whoever engraved them must be a master calligrapher.
At first, Ye Qing couldn’t spot anything amiss. But over time, he realized that the childish conversation came from the ancient scripts themselves.
“That’s the ‘Timely Clearing After Snowfall[1]’!”
“Sorry, what?” Ye Qing asked.
Chu Qingge explained, “The gravestone is engraved with a calligraphy art titled ‘Timely Clearing After Snowfall’. It was crafted by the master calligrapher, the ‘Sage of Calligraphy’ Wang Donghe, and it was heralded by countless calligraphers and artists as the best calligraphy art of all times.”
“The one engraved on the gravestone obviously isn’t the original, but it is strong, firm, elegant, and imbued with the author’s unique intent. Not only was the author as skilled as Wang Donghe, I believe that his version of ‘Timely Clearing After Snowfall’ has exceeded the original.”
“Hahaha! She praised me! You heard that, people? She praised me!”
“She’s not praising you, she’s praising us.”
“She’s not praising us, she’s praising our master.”
“That’s the same as praising us, you doofus.”
“Well, she is as beautiful as she is discerning, unlike that dumb-looking sucker standing next to her. It’s clear he’s not a very bright person.”
“Yeah, he wouldn’t be haunted otherwise. He deserves what he got.”
Ye “I Look Dumb” Qing was miffed. You could’ve praised her without slandering me!
He abruptly realized that the ancient scripts could sense the Little Shoulder Ghost’s presence after that.
“Enough! She’s coming over. Try not to scare her, okay?”
“Yes, yes.”
“If there is someone we must scare, it would have to be the sucker next to her.”
“Yes, we’re going to scare him until he pisses his pants just like that fool from earlier.”
“Yes, we will, hehehe...”
Ye Qing: “...” The fuck did I do to you? Did I eat your food or something? Is it a sin to be stupid? Ah ptooey, I’m not stupid! I’m the most intelligent and handsome man in the world!
“Miss Chu, why are you approaching that gravestone?” Ye Qing asked his companion via sound transmission.
She replied, “I sense a sword art within that calligraphy art.”
“A sword art?” Ye Qing sounded puzzled because he couldn’t sense anything.
I’m not actually stupid, am I? The young man couldn’t help but fall into a pit of self-doubt.
Meanwhile, Chu Qingge had reached the gravestone and bent down to inspect the ancient scripts. In Ye Qing’s spirit, he sensed the ancient scripts somehow floating away from the gravestone, stood on top of it, and began demonstrating a set of sword techniques with the blurry image of a snowfall as the backdrop.
When Ye Qing attempted to get a closer look, everything suddenly disappeared from view. He could barely see or sense Chu Qingge herself.
Ye Qing rubbed his nose in irritation. So, they don’t want to show me the sword art. Who would’ve thought that I would be discriminated against by a bunch of words one day?!
About half a teatime later, Chu Qingge abruptly exploded with sword intent. It gave off a melancholic feeling like that of a person stranded in the middle of a snowfall.
“Wow, you’re really smart! I can’t believe how quickly you grasped master’s sword art and intent!”
“Yes, she’s practically as smart as master himself.”
“Don’t be stupid. No one is as smart as master. He’s the smartest human in the whole world!”
“Sorry, sorry. I’m saying that she’s smarter than that sucker.”
“But of course!”
“Why are you stating the obvious?”
Ye Qing: “...” They just cannot stop shooting me in the knee, can they?
“How is it?” Ye Qing walked over to Chu Qingge and asked after she opened her eyes.
Chu Qingge replied honestly, “It’s a sword art called the ‘Sword of Timely Clearing After Snowfall’. It was a sword art created based on the original calligraphy by Gongsun Yang, a master calligrapher and a swordmaster. It was also his signature martial art.”
Chu Qingge then turned back to the gravestone and performed a disciple’s salute. “Thank you so much for imparting to me your techniques, senior. This junior is eternally grateful for this boon.”
“Would you like to give it a try, Brother Ye?”
“Why not?” Ye Qing was tempted after seeing Chu Qingge obtaining a sword art inheritance with barely any effort.
Unfortunately, his dreams were shattered before he could even get close to the gravestone.
“Outta my way! I will be the one to make him piss his pants!”
“You get out of my way! You already scared that human from earlier! It’s my turn now!”
“Bullshit! It was Sword, Fist and Stick who scared the human earlier. I haven’t scared anyone yet!”
“Liar! I’m the one who hasn’t scared anyone yet!”
“Shut up, you stupid words. We won’t even get to play if you scare him off. Now listen to me. Mouth, Talk and Dialogue, shut your mouths. Dream, Thought and Wish, drag him into a dream on my mark. When that happens, we’ll be able to scare him to our hearts’ content.”
“Haha, that’s a great plan, Heart! We’ll do that. I’m going to turn into a ghost and scare the shit out of him!”
“I’m going to turn into a sword and cut him into ribbons!”
“And I’m going to beat him up until shits his pants!”
......
Ye Qing’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. Chu Qingge was smirking a little as well. The young woman had called them a masterpiece of calligraphy art, but in his opinion, they were just naughty children who deserved a long, hard spanking!
Ye Qing’s eyes glinted with cunning as he walked up to the gravestone. Right before the ancient scripts could pull their stunt, Ye Qing abruptly walked away while saying, “I’m sorry, Miss Chu, but these words remind me of lying dogs. They’re so ugly I can barely stand to look at them, so I’m not going to.”
Chu Qingge looked surprised for a second. Then, she broke into a wry grin.
“What did he just say? Was he insulting us?”
“Of course he’s insulting us, you doofus! He’s calling us ugly!”
“Ah... that sucker dares to call us ugly? You’re the ugly one, you bastard!”
“We are cool, strong, and beautiful! You must be blind to think us ugly!”
“Ayaya, don’t stop me! I’m going to cut his dog head off with my sword!”
“Waaaaaaah! Come back if you dare, you sucker! What, you’re bold enough to call us ugly, but not bold enough to face us! Come back, and we promise to blow your top!”
As soon as the ancient scripts realized what happened, they immediately erupted into a cacophony of insults and threats. However, it looked like they were unable to leave the gravestone probably because their existence was bound to it, and their vocabulary of expletives was sorely lacking probably because they were child-minded.
“Oh ho? You can’t leave your gravestone, can you? That’s good to know.”
Almost ten meters away, Ye Qing relaxed after confirming that the ancient scripts couldn’t leave the gravestone. He was going to take off like a ghost if the ancient scripts could leave the gravestone or attack him, but for once, luck was on his side.
So, what was he going to do now? He was going to insult the ancient scripts to his heart’s content, of course. He would be a real sucker if he didn’t serve his revenge hot.
“SIgh, I’ve never seen such ugly words in my life. They’re so ugly I wonder if I was dreaming. I was this close from throwing up yesterday’s dinner.”
Ye Qing crossed his arms and said disdainfully, “Even a three-year-old’s shitty handwriting looks better than this. What a sad, sad gravestone this is.”
The ancient scripts fumed—literally, white smoke was rising from their top—with white hot anger when they heard this.
“He... He dares! Get over here, brat! 1v1 us if you dare! We promise to attack you as a group!”
“You’re the one who’s so ugly that I could throw up!”
“Yeah, yeah! In fact, we’re gonna throw up right now! Everyone, on the count of three, one, two—blaaaaargh!”
“Blaaaaaaargh!”
“Blaargh!”
“Are you words stupid? He can’t hear what we’re saying! We’re just wasting our breaths!”
“Oh right! Come, come, let’s make a word!”
“Yeah, yeah! Move it!”
The ancient scripts started shifting around the gravestone until they formed a single word, “Ugly”.
“Oh? The words are alive?” Ye Qing feigned ignorance and exclaimed with fake surprise, “Do you see that, Miss Chu? The words themselves knew that they were ugly. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have formed the word ‘Ugly’.”
“If you know you’re ugly, you shouldn’t show your face around any longer. My advice to you all is to kill yourselves and save us all the embarrassment.”
Ye Qing then sighed and started walking away. “Let us leave, Miss Chu. I can’t bear to stay here for a moment longer. I have a feeling that my eyes are going to turn blind if I stare at them any longer.”
“Ahhhhhhhh! I’m angry! I’m so angry!”
“Something is wrong with this guy’s head! The word is obviously meant for him, not us!”
“Come back, you sucker! Come back and fight us for three hundred rounds!”
“Yeah, yeah! You’re a chicken if you back down from our challenge!”
“Don’t go, you sucker! Come back! Come back!”
Ye Qing could hear their desperate, rage-filled screams even after he was far, far away from the tombstone. His lips automatically spread into a delighted, relaxed grin.
“That was a little childish, don’t you think? Those Word Sprites have a child’s mind, and I can tell they don’t harbor any real malice. Had you praised them instead, they might have taught the Sword of Timely Clearing After Snowfall,” Chu Qingge said after they were out of earshot.
“Oh, I know they’re children. They’re naughty children who need to be punished.” Ye Qing shrugged uncaringly. “Besides, I can tell that those ancient scripts have zero intentions of teaching me the sword art, so just as well.”
Did he have an actual basis to his assumption? Not at all. But sometimes, you just know that you weren’t destined for something. In that case, he would rather teach those naughty children a lesson and get his revenge.
“It’s your choice!” Chu Qingge shook her head.
“Oh right, are you still going to venture deeper into the Mountain of Demons now that you’ve obtained Wang Donghe’s inheritance, Miss Chu?” Ye Qing asked.
Chu Qingge nodded firmly. “But of course. If I was just aiming to obtain a martial art at this level, then I wouldn’t have come to the Demon’s Tomb at all.”
Ye Qing rolled his eyes. If he wasn’t sure before, now he knew they didn’t live in the same world.
1. It’s an actual calligraphy art. You guys can Google it if you want to. ?
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