chsdbacks Chapter 33: The Girl Who Learned Knife Skills from the Praying Mantis
Chapter 33: The Girl Who Learned Knife Skills from the Praying Mantis
Zhang Ping, holding the five hundred taels of silver he had borrowed from Quan Hongyan, plunged headlong into the bustling streets of Lanjiang City.
The crowds thronged shoulder to shoulder, a mixture of sweat, perfume, the steam of food, and all sorts of indescribable local flavors.
The shouts of vendors rose and fell, along with the sounds of gongs, haggling, and cart wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs, creating a noisy yet vibrant symphony.
The air was filled with the sweet aroma of fried dough sticks, the bitter smell of the herbal medicine shop, and the faint fishy smell wafting from the livestock pen.
"How lively!" Zhang Ping couldn't help but exclaim softly, his eyes shining.
While the skyscrapers of his previous life were magnificent, the vibrant ancient streets before him were a completely new and exciting experience.
He looked around curiously, and whenever he saw something unusual, he couldn't help but go over and ask the stall owner or passerby all sorts of questions.
Those who were stopped by him were initially impatient, but upon sensing the martial arts aura emanating from him, they immediately put on smiles and began to explain in a 'kind' manner.
After walking and stopping for about an hour, Zhang Ping turned into a narrow alley.
There were no proper shops on either side of the alley, but the ground was densely packed with street stalls.
Surprisingly, quite a few of the young men coming and going were well-dressed and wealthy. The air was filled with a peculiar, slightly damp, earthy smell and the stench of decaying grass, interspersed with the occasional chirping of insects.
"This is it!" Zhang Ping's heart leaped with joy; he had finally found the place.
This street market in front of us is a place that specializes in selling all kinds of strange insects, and it is a treasure trove for young masters to enjoy insect fighting.
He perked up and quickly squeezed in.
"Young master! Young master, please wait!" A hoarse, aged voice rang out. A gaunt old man from a nearby stall quickly grabbed his sleeve, his face beaming with smiles.
"Look! A steel-armored centipede I just caught in the dangerous area outside the city! A rare find!"
"Steel-Armored Centipede?" Zhang Ping paused, intrigued by the name.
Approaching the old man's stall, I saw about a dozen small wooden boxes displayed on it. The old man's withered, wiry fingers were pointing to one of them.
Inside the box, a nearly foot-long, jet-black centipede lay dormant.
Its carapace gleamed with a cold, eerie light, and its densely packed legs sent chills down one's spine. Most peculiar of all were its pair of supple tentacles swaying slightly atop its head, exuding an eerie aura.
"How much does this thing cost?" Zhang Ping's heart skipped a beat.
The old man's small eyes gleamed, and he spread his fingers: "Not much, fifty taels of silver!"
"Goodbye!" Zhang Ping's face darkened, and he turned and left decisively.
The five hundred taels of silver had barely warmed his pockets, and it might not even be enough to buy the main mantis and the necessary materials, let alone have any spare money to buy this thing.
"Hey! Young master! Wait! The price is negotiable! Forty-five taels? Forty taels is fine too, young master!" The old man was getting anxious and kept lowering the price from behind.
Zhang Ping didn't turn his head back and plunged straight into the depths of the crowd.
"Sigh... I misjudged him. I thought he was some newbie insect fighting sheep..." The old man looked at his back and slapped his thigh in frustration.
Zhang Ping squeezed his way through the alley, his eyes scanning the stalls one by one.
I saw quite a few mantises, but most of them were common green varieties with unremarkable body shapes.
After seeing the appearance of the armored centipede, he lost interest in these ordinary items and only wanted to find the unique mutant species in this world, preferably fierce and swift ruthless characters.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he squatted down in front of a stall.
This stall is very special. Large and small wooden boxes are neatly arranged, and they are all filled with praying mantises of various shapes and sizes!
The stall owner was a young girl, dressed in a faded blue cloth dress, who was carefully adding water to a box.
"Hey girl, how much do you want for these mantises?" Zhang Ping leaned closer and examined the mantises carefully.
Green, red, blue, purple—a vibrant array of colors. Each one warily holds two gleaming broadswords aloft, each with a unique posture, exuding an innate murderous aura.
The girl looked up and gave a shy smile: "Big brother has a good eye! I have the most varieties of mantises here, almost all the common ones around here."
"Look, this is a blade mantis, its blade is exceptionally hard; the one with spots is a spotted mantis, a master of camouflage; and that big one is a giant mantis, the strongest; the one next to it, green and bright, is a green-leaf mantis, best at ambushes..."
She knew them all like the back of her hand, and could describe the habits and characteristics of each type of praying mantis in great detail.
Zhang Ping clicked his tongue in amazement: "Girl, is this something you specialize in?"
"I've loved these little creatures since I was little. Watching them hunt is so interesting." The girl smiled, her eyes crinkling, exuding a natural charm.
Zhang Ping then took a closer look at her.
His features weren't exceptionally beautiful, but his eyes and brows were delicate and his spirited air was captivating; he was the kind of person who grew on you the more you looked at him. Especially striking was his straightforward and decisive demeanor, which carried a hint of the spirit of a wandering swordsman.
Upon closer inspection, Zhang Ping was slightly surprised: a martial artist in the early stage of skin tempering! A martial artist selling insects at a stall? This was truly rare.
He raised an eyebrow and tentatively asked, "May I ask your name, young lady?"
"My name is Hua Zhu. Big brother, you didn't like these?" Hua Zhu saw his gaze shift from the insects to her, and the smile on her face faded a little, with a hint of wariness appearing in her eyes.
Zhang Ping sensed the subtle shift in the atmosphere, quickly considered his options, deliberately changed his form of address, and carefully chose his tone to speak sincerely:
"Brother Hua, my name is Zhang Ping. To be honest, I've long heard that the Mantis has the reputation of being a master swordsman. Lately, when I practice swordsmanship, I always feel that something is wrong, and I'm stuck on a hurdle I can't overcome."
I wanted to get a powerful praying mantis to take home and study it closely, to observe its movements; perhaps it would offer some inspiration.
The greeting "Brother Hua" was intended to build rapport, but to everyone's surprise, Hua Zhu's eyes widened suddenly, and he blurted out, "You also want to steal swordsmanship from the mantis?!"
"Uh... observation, mainly observation..." Zhang Ping's face flushed, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Learning swordsmanship from insects? If he said that out loud, even someone with a thick skin wouldn't be able to stand it; he'd probably be seen as crazy.
But the next second, it suddenly dawned on him, and he looked up, completely bewildered: "You mean...you...you learned to use a knife from a praying mantis?"
"That's right!" Hua Zhu's eyes lit up instantly, as if she had found a long-lost friend.
In her excitement, she grabbed Zhang Ping's arm before he could pull it back.
"Brother Zhang! You have excellent taste!"
"Uh... Ah??" Zhang Ping's mouth gaped open, dumbfounded.
Are there really such extraordinary people?!
Seeing Hua Zhu's excited face as she grabbed his arm and began to talk endlessly about how exquisite the mantis's fighting techniques were and how its hunting actions contained the profound principles of heaven and earth, Zhang Ping felt a chill run down his spine.
He seemed to sense several mocking gazes sweeping over him, and subconsciously shrank his neck and lowered his head slightly.
Quickly changing the subject: "Brother Hua! Brother Hua! You said you had other varieties at home? How about... we go to your house to take a look?"
"Oh! Right, right, right! Look at me!" Hua Zhu suddenly realized, her face still flushed with excitement. She quickly and deftly packed the boxes on the stall into a piece of coarse cloth, tossed them over her shoulder, and...
"Brother Zhang, come with me!"
Zhang Ping quickly followed, and the two of them squeezed through the crowd one after the other, heading deeper into the alley.
"Silly Bamboo? It's only noon, and you're already packing up?" an old man selling straw crafts at the far end of the alley called out, his words laced with familiar teasing.
"Yes, Uncle Dong, something came up, I won't be setting up my stall this afternoon! May you prosper!"
Hua Zhu smiled and agreed, then casually took a bunch of fresh, juicy cabbages from another stall owner and waved to the familiar vendors around her.
He quickly left with Zhang Ping.
"I didn't realize you were so popular here," Zhang Ping said with some surprise as he followed behind.
The girl proudly raised her chin, her ponytail swaying gently: "It's alright, I guess. It's all thanks to the help of the neighbors."
The two walked through the bustling market area, turning and twisting, gradually leaving the noise behind.
The surrounding buildings became low and crowded, the road surface was no longer smooth, and tenacious weeds grew in the gaps between the bluestone slabs.
Coarse cloth clothes hung on the drying line, swaying in the wind, the air filled with the smell of firewood and faint odors of domestic sewage.
This is the edge of the inner city of Lanjiang City, a typical area where the lower classes of people live.
Hua Zhu stopped in front of an ordinary courtyard with blue bricks. The courtyard wall was somewhat mottled, and the wooden door also showed signs of age.
"Xiaocheng! I'm back!" she called out as she pushed open the courtyard gate with practiced ease.
"Sister!" A handsome boy of about twelve or thirteen years old ran out of the house in response, his steps light and quick.
Upon spotting Zhang Ping behind Hua Zhu, her bright eyes filled with curiosity: "Sister, who is this?"
Zhang Ping smiled and said, "I'm your sister's friend."
"Alright, Xiaocheng, don't just stand there, hurry up and move that big wooden box out of my house!" Huazhu smiled at Zhang Ping and gestured for him to sit down at a small wooden table in the yard.
"Brother Zhang, please have a seat and some water."
Zhang Ping took the rough earthenware bowl handed to him, which contained clear water.
He surveyed the small courtyard without making a sound, and suddenly realized: a commoner, no wonder a martial artist in the Skin Tempering Realm had to make a living by selling mantises.