A Quiet Exchange

1,230 words

Han Li grabbed the rope of the wooden bucket, tossed it into the pool, then pulled and lifted it back up.

A full bucket of spring water was drawn up.

Effortlessly raising the bucket above his head, he tilted his wrist. With a splash, the bucket of clear water cascaded from his head down to his feet.

"How refreshing!"

"Great feeling!"

Han Li and another youth both let out a cool, relieved cry at the same time.

It was hardly surprising. At the height of summer, the heat was sweltering. The two of them, bare-chested, receiving a head-on dousing of ice-cold mountain spring water—there was not a single place on their bodies that didn't feel wonderful.

"Heh heh! Junior Han, you really know how to find a good spot. A hidden little pool like this, and you still managed to discover it." The youth with the outwardly cold demeanor suddenly spoke.

"This is nothing. I've found plenty of places even harder to reach than this. Unfortunately, none of them had water as cool and refreshing as this." The other youth accepted the flattery without the slightest hint of modesty.

This youth was Han Li himself. The other was Li Feiyu, who had come to collect his medicine.

Ever since Li Feiyu first obtained the painkiller from Han Li and tried it at home, the effect had been truly remarkable. The agony of the Marrow-Extracting Pill had been greatly reduced.

From then on, Li Feiyu became completely dependent. Without Han Li’s medicinal powder, he could no longer endure the pain of the Marrow-Extracting Pill. As a result, what should have been a year's supply was completely exhausted by Li Feiyu in just a few short months.

Driven to the breaking point by inhuman suffering, Li Feiyu had no choice but to steel himself and take the initiative to seek out Han Li for more medicine.

At that time, Han Li was looking to strengthen his own abilities. Knowing that Li Feiyu had already entered the Seven Peaks Hall, he directly proposed an exchange: he would provide the medicine in return for being taught the ultimate techniques of the Seven Peaks Hall.

Li Feiyu, who had only a few years left to live, agreed with surprising readiness and gave his full consent.

To prevent outsiders from discovering their secret, Han Li found several very secluded spots in the dozen-li-long Cai Xia Mountain Range to conduct their transactions.

At regular intervals, the two would secretly meet. Han Li would hand over the medicine, and Li Feiyu would teach him some martial arts he had learned from the Seven Peaks Hall.

This continued for over half a year. Both were relatively satisfied with the arrangement.

During these six months of contact, Li Feiyu and Han Li found each other increasingly agreeable. Unknowingly, they had truly become close friends who could say anything to each other.

Li Feiyu was extremely pleased with the places Han Li had found. He was especially fond of this spot with the small pool. Surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs, it formed a modest basin. The only passage in was a hidden cave narrow enough that one had to crawl on hands and knees to get through. The exit of the cave was, incredibly, inside the hollow of an old locust tree that grew pressed tightly against the cliff face.

Most importantly, on these sweltering days, a cool little pool like this was a lifesaver.

After loosening up their muscles and joints, pouring a few buckets of cold water over themselves was an incomparably soothing feeling.

Having finished his dousing, Han Li glanced at the sun and spoke.

"The Furious Python Art you taught me last time—it's too fierce and rigid. I don't think it suits me. Do you have any smaller, gentler techniques?"

"Junior Han, do you really think the Seven Peaks Hall belongs to me alone? That I can learn whatever technique I want? I can only pick a small portion to study. My own path leans toward Yang-aligned strength, so naturally I learn the fierce, masculine arts," Li Feiyu shot him a look and answered without much patience.

"Who is Senior Brother Li? The champion among all our disciples. How could you be compared to an ordinary Seven Peaks Hall student?"

Han Li smiled awkwardly, a little embarrassed. Seeing that Li Feiyu was somewhat annoyed, he quickly stepped forward and offered a few placating words.

"What a rare event, to be flattered by our great genius Han himself," Li Feiyu said with a half-smile, teasing him.

"What genius? Don't I get taken down by you in just a few moves every time?"

"Hmph! That's because I use true qi to overwhelm your skill with raw force. It's not real skill. If I didn't use true qi, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do anything about you even in a hundred moves."

"Who fights a martial match without using true qi? Senior Brother Li is too modest."

"Modest? I'm not being modest at all. You've never studied martial arts before, never even fought anyone. The only thing you've ever learned is that useless, worthless heart technique. Yet in such a short time, you've grasped the essence of forms to this degree. If you're not a genius, what are you? Speaking of which, that oral formula of yours doesn't have any power at all. I don't know why you still practice it every day."

Han Li gave a bitter inward smile.

You think I want to? I'm riding the tiger now. I can't stop even if I want to.

"Junior Han, I'm not just nagging. With your talent for learning martial arts over these past six months, just throw away that broken formula and properly learn some real skills from me. I guarantee that within two years, you'll rise to prominence and make a name for yourself. Then you and I can rule over the Seven Mysteries Sect—what a pleasure that would be!" Li Feiyu advised him earnestly once again.

Han Li felt a little moved. Although Li Feiyu had said this many times before and it was starting to bore him, he could still appreciate the sincerity behind the words.

Han Li gently shook his head in refusal and changed the subject.

"Within the Seven Peaks Hall, is there no martial art that can defeat an enemy without using true qi?"

Seeing that Han Li had shifted the topic and didn't want to dwell on the old issue, Li Feiyu didn't press him further. He understood that the other party, like himself, probably had some unspeakable difficulties that were hard to reveal.

He lowered his head and thought carefully for a moment, then raised it again.

"There actually is a strange sword technique like that. It can be used without true qi. But..."

"But what?" Han Li’s spirits lifted at the mention of a martial art truly suited to him, and he pressed on eagerly.

"But this sword technique has been sitting in the Seven Peaks Hall for over a hundred years. No one has ever successfully mastered it. It's said that even the elder who created it passed away before he could perfect it. The name of the technique is strange too. It's called the Blinking Sword Art. Isn't that an odd name?" Li Feiyu spoke of the technique with a tone of continuous wonder.

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Reading Guide Decoding

The Birth of a Legendary Technique

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

Qi in Martial vs. Cultivation Contexts: Li Feiyu uses "true qi" (真气) in the wuxia sense—a purely internal martial energy that can reinforce attacks, increase speed, or block damage. This is fundamentally different from the "true qi" (also 真气) that Han Li cultivates in the Eternal Spring Art, which is a spiritual energy linked to longevity, spiritual roots, and the cultivation path. Han Li cannot use his spiritual qi to power martial techniques, which is why he specifically seeks a technique that requires no true qi at all. This distinction is crucial for understanding the martial-cultivation boundary in the Mortal Stream.
The "Riding the Tiger" Dilemma: Han Li's internal line, "I'm riding the tiger now" (骑虎难下), is a classical Chinese idiom for a situation where you cannot stop even though you desperately want to. In the Mortal Stream, it perfectly captures the essence of a cultivation project gone beyond the point of return—once you start absorbing spiritual energy and expanding your meridians, the material costs and physical momentum lock you into an irreversible trajectory. Han Li cannot simply "throw away the formula" without risking his foundation or exposing his secrets.
Private Instruction Economy: In the Seven Mysteries Sect, the transmission of martial arts is tightly controlled. Seven Peaks Hall techniques are not publicly available; they are earned through status, lineage, or—as in this case—illegal private trade. This reinforces the sect's internal economy: knowledge is a scarce resource hoarded by the upper hierarchy, and any leakage below the elite tier is a capital offense. Li Feiyu's willingness to teach Han Li is not just friendship; it is a sign of his own estrangement from the sect's orthodox power structure.

Chapter Overview

Summer settles over the Cai Xia Mountains, and in a hidden basin accessible only through a hollow tree, a quiet transaction unfolds. Han Li and Li Feiyu meet under the blazing sun—not as sworn brothers, but as two men locked in a cold, pragmatic exchange of pain relief for forbidden martial knowledge. The chapter is a slice-of-survival interlude: no ambushes, no soul-searching rituals, just two cursed youths building a friendship on the foundation of mutual dependency. But beneath the splash of cool water lies the careful architecture of the Mortal Stream: every smile, every piece of flattery, every question about "techniques that don’t require true qi" is a calculated step. Get ready for a slow-burn chapter that lays the emotional groundwork for one of the most important bonds in the entire Seven Mysteries Sect arc.

Key Plot Points

The chapter opens with Han Li and Li Feiyu cooling off in a secret pool after a training session, providing a rare glimpse of mundane relief in an otherwise brutal cultivation life.
Li Feiyu's dependency on Han Li's painkiller is confirmed as absolute; his initial year's supply was exhausted in months, forcing him to seek out Han Li proactively.
Their exchange is formalized: painkiller formulas for Seven Peaks Hall techniques—a hostage-based trade that slowly evolves into genuine friendship over half a year.
Han Li asks for a more refined, less Yang-heavy technique, revealing his tactical awareness of his own limitations with the Furious Python Art.
Li Feiyu gets exasperated and tries to convince Han Li to abandon his "useless oral formula" and focus on real martial arts, showing genuine concern beneath his abrasive exterior.
Han Li deflects the question without revealing his secrets, maintaining the "riding the tiger" barrier between his true situation and his outward persona.
Li Feiyu recalls the existence of the Blinking Sword Art—a legendary technique that requires no true qi, has never been mastered in over a century, and whose creator died before completing it.
The chapter ends on this hook: a strange, unmasterable sword art—perfect for someone who can't use true qi but desperately needs a real weapon.

Reading Guide

This is one of those quiet, "breathing room" chapters that Mortal Stream does better than almost any other cultivation novel. There's no fight, no breakthrough, no cosmic revelation. Just two sweaty young men talking in a pool. But pay attention to the texture: the way Han Li calibrates his tone between deflecting and appeasing when Li Feiyu gets testy; the way Li Feiyu's exasperation carries an undercurrent of real anxiety for his friend's future; the way a name like "Blinking Sword Art" is dropped as a casual curiosity rather than a hyped-up super technique. The Mortal Stream's genius lies in making you care about the small, quiet things—because those are the roots of every explosion to come. Also, note Han Li's question: "a technique that doesn't need true qi." He's not just fishing for a new hobby. He's preparing for a future where his spiritual cultivation and his martial warfare might need to run on separate tracks entirely.