Lu Xueqi paused for a moment, unable to make sense of it, and simply gave up trying. Once Zhang Yuan finished practicing his swordsmanship later, she could just ask him.
Lu Xueqi sat nearby, watching Zhang Yuan practice quietly, a wave of envy welling up inside her. Could this be the legendary epiphany? It was something ordinary cultivators could only encounter by chance, yet once entered, one's cultivation would leap forward by leaps and bounds in an instant.
Does even a blind man have dumb luck?
After practicing until his movements were eight or nine parts similar, Zhang Yuan stopped. It was not that he didn't want to continue, but because he was so exhausted he was practically on the verge of collapse. The True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder was certainly not something a beginner cultivator could casually practice.
Zhang Yuan stabbed the bamboo stick into the ground, leaving a hole behind. He breathed heavily through his nose and mouth, his forehead covered in sweat.
"Junior Brother Zhang Yuan."
Lu Xueqi stood up, walked over to stand in front of Zhang Yuan, and cast a complicated look at him.
I'm doomed.
Zhang Yuan was stunned for a second before it finally dawned on him. Just now, in his state of epiphany, he had actually gone through the entire True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder.
This was a rather serious problem.
Lu Xueqi had been watching the whole time right beside him! A blind man could use sound and scent to distinguish directions, but could he possibly see someone else practicing sword forms?
Not only had he learned Lu Xueqi's swordsmanship, but he had also practiced it right in front of her.
His cover was blown!
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Yuan realized his only option was to bullshit his way through this. Lu Xueqi, who was only around ten years old right now, hadn't yet grown into the milk-tea-loving beauty of her later years, making her relatively easy to fool.
"Senior Sister."
Zhang Yuan stood before Lu Xueqi, his eyes still cloudy, devoid of any pupils or focus. He appeared completely calm, without the slightest trace of panic.
"Can your eyes see now?" Lu Xueqi asked flatly.
"They recovered a little bit intermittently." Zhang Yuan nodded, then shook his head, looking utterly sincere.
"Recovered is recovered, not recovered is not recovered. What is this supposed to mean, they only recovered a little bit?" Lu Xueqi put her hands on her hips. Her long dress fluttered in the breeze, and the impressive curve of her chest was already beginning to show, making her look from afar like a budding beauty.
"To tell you the truth."
"I have been blind since childhood, and my eyes are as cloudy as if they were broken, unable to see a thing. But under certain special conditions, my vision recovers for a brief period. Just like a moment ago, my vision came back for a while, but now it's gone again."
At this point, Zhang Yuan paused briefly before continuing, "Ever since I was little, I've only experienced that kind of sudden recovery of sight three times. The first time was when I was three years old, playing in Grass Temple Village and being chased by a mad dog. The second time was when I was six and fell into the sea. The third time was just now."
Intermittent recovery? Sometimes he can see, and sometimes he can't? Lu Xueqi looked at Zhang Yuan's cloudy eyeballs, which lacked the slightest bit of focus, feeling somewhat skeptical. How could such a bizarre thing happen in this world?
"Do you know why your eyes recover intermittently?" Lu Xueqi asked, puzzled.
"I don't know."
"Sometimes, I think my eyes aren't truly blind, but rather in some kind of special dormant state. Just like human shock; when this strange illness of mine finally heals one day, I'll regain my sight." Zhang Yuan continued making things up on the spot. Anyway, none of this could be verified, so whatever he said went.
He was laying the groundwork for his future vision recoveries.
At the same time, he was subtly implying that his eyes were immensely powerful and were simply dormant right now. Who knew, maybe one day when they awakened, he'd possess double pupils, the Sharingan... the Eyes of Hell... and other overpowered abilities.
With today's foreshadowing laid down, it would be much easier for people to accept when his Mind's Eye finally manifested later on.
Thump...
Lu Xueqi's heart suddenly skipped a beat. She looked at the Zhang Yuan standing before her in disbelief. Could it be that her junior brother's eyes really possessed some incredible power? Were they truly just dormant? In the history of cultivation, there had indeed been rare mighty beings whose eyes underwent mutations, after which their path of cultivation became completely unobstructed as they marched straight to the peak.
Could Zhang Yuan be such a person? Although Lu Xueqi was still full of doubts, she already believed it five or six parts in her heart. At around ten years of age, Lu Xueqi was thoroughly innocent and very easy to deceive. Of course, this was also the age when one was most prone to developing romantic feelings for the opposite sex.
Zhang Yuan glanced at Lu Xueqi and knew his blatant fabrication was already showing initial results. Only... Lu Xueqi was truly breathtakingly pretty! Fooling her gave him a lingering sense of guilt.
Hehe!
That cherry mouth, those tender arms white as lotus roots, the rose-like hollows beneath her shoulders, and those plump, fair little legs down below...
They fit his ideal criteria for a spouse completely!
If he could manage to win Lu Xueqi over and make her his own person, wouldn't he be free from bearing this guilt?
"Is everything you said true?" Lu Xueqi asked after a moment of silence.
"I'm not certain." Zhang Yuan shook his head.
"Alright. I understand. I'll find a way to help you figure out what's going on with your eyes." Lu Xueqi thought for a moment, tilting her head in contemplation. Earlier, Zhang Yuan had only watched her perform the True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder once, yet he had memorized it and practiced it with decent form. His cultivation talent was clearly not as hopeless as the sect leader and the other peak lords claimed.
Perhaps they had misjudged him, and her junior brother was genuinely a genius.
"Thank you, Senior Sister."
"You're welcome. Later, I will report this matter to Master and have her examine your eyes again." Lu Xueqi said with a completely earnest expression.
No need...
Hearing this, Zhang Yuan's body stiffened slightly. Master Shuiyue was not an innocent and naive child like Lu Xueqi; she was not so easily fooled. If Lu Xueqi told Master Shuiyue about him learning the True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder, a thorough interrogation was bound to follow.
That was not what he wanted.
"Senior Sister, could you please not tell Master?"
"Don't you want your eyes to recover?" Lu Xueqi looked at Zhang Yuan in surprise.
"I..."
"I mean, could you please not tell Master that I learned the True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder?" Zhang Yuan wasn't afraid of Master Shuiyue examining his eyes since he really was blind, but if she found out he was practicing the True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder, it would undoubtedly cause trouble.
"Oh? Is this your way of practicing in secret to amaze everyone later?"
Zhang Yuan shook his head. "I just feel that now is not the right time to tell Master, especially since she doesn't like a blind person like me. I haven't even formally performed the master-disciple ceremony yet. When I find the right moment, I'll bring it up to her myself."
"..."
"Fine!"
"I promise you."
Lu Xueqi agreed after a brief moment of thought.
Right now, Lu Xueqi was just too easy to trick.
Should I take advantage of her youthful innocence and trick her into becoming my wife?
Zhang Yuan smacked his lips, then brushed the wicked thought away from his mind.
Oh, Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yuan.
You truly are a beast.
Lu Xueqi is your senior sister, after all! To think you'd want to keep all the good water within your own fields.