Chapter 23: Picking Stars, Changing Fights

The merchants and traders, the Jianghu travelers, the idlers who had stopped to drink tea in the teahouse, and even the postmen...

Everyone around the station was just like the people at the two tea tables with Zhao Rong, all eyes fixed on the speaker.

The person's voice thundered through the tiles, drowning out all other noise!

It contained savage Inner Strength, certainly no common feat.

Zhao Rong, Lu Gui, and Qiu Guangjun had their expressions change immediately, each in a different way.

There wasn't time to take offense at the other party's rudeness, and Qiu Guangjun didn't even have the chance to pass on a message before the short, stout figure slammed the table, breaking two of its legs with a bang, and amidst the flying wood chips, used the rebounding force to abruptly shoot out.

Like a whirlwind, he suddenly rolled and crashed next to the clever steward.

A sharp cry rang out as the steward of the Qiu Family Manor was sent flying, and the table behind him couldn't avoid the collision in time, sending dishes, benches, and a short-attired man and woman into turmoil; even their cups of tea were overturned.

"Dang gumbo tree!" exclaimed the man from Jiujiang Prefecture as he clambered to his feet, cursing in his local accent.

A knife lay on his table, and his several companions, like him, cursed but didn't dare to take any direct action.

The steward of the Qiu Family Manor lay beside them, unable to get up for quite a while.

The short, stout man looked at the ginseng he had snatched and laughed continuously, "Good medicine, indeed good medicine, haha!"

"Hey, you people from the Qiu Family, this medicine is mine now."

Only then did everyone get a good look at his face.

He appeared old, his neck not visible, and his broad, flat head seemed to have been hammered down hard onto his shoulders at his birth.

"You shameless thief!"

With a clatter, both Qiu siblings and the guests of the manor drew their swords and surrounded the short, stout man.

Zhao Rong and the others stood outside the circle.

Even with Qiu Guangjun's tolerant exterior and hidden depths, he looked troubled at the moment.

He didn't recognize the short, stout man at first, but having been humiliated in person by an unknown rogue, he was already seething with anger.

So when he saw Qiu Mengting step forward, Qiu didn't stop him.

"Where did this bandit come from, daring to rob in broad daylight?"

"Rob?"

The short, stout man snickered, "I was picking herbs near Mount Heng and happened to come across this Jiujiang ginseng. What's wrong with taking the herbs I found?"

"Hmph, robbery is robbery."

"Where in the world is there such a thing as picking herbs from someone else's package? Stop your nonsense and return the medicine— you're hardly as precious as this ginseng."

Qiu Mengyin stepped beside her brother, echoing his scornful words.

The short, stout man's face looked terrible, but as he glanced at the ginseng in his hand, he beamed happily, ignoring Qiu Mengyin's mockery.

"I'm in a good mood from gathering herbs today, too lazy to quibble with you all."

He pocketed the ginseng and didn't even bother taking the silver and gold from the package.

Regarding the encircling weapons, he seemed to completely ignore them and walked forward with ease.

"Seeking death!"

One of the short-attired guests from the manor, furious, swung his knife down, but the short, stout man was incredibly agile. He sidestepped the blade and rolled under the guest's armpit, knocking him to the ground.

Reaching forward, he snatched the longsword out of another hand.

Another guest attacked with a sword thrust, but the man's body suddenly shrank, allowing him to dodge the incoming blade with a strange Bone Shrinking Skill while standing still.

He turned and swung his own sword fiercely. The Qiu Family Manor's guests had martial skills too; they hurriedly rolled to evade.

"Clang!"

A loud bang sounded from behind as benches and tableware were split apart.

The shrapnel whistled through the air with a hissing sound!

Qiu Guangjun pulled out a dagger to deflect a shard.

"Ow~!!" Cries of pain suddenly echoed from around him.

The man from Jiujiang was hit yet again and cursed loudly, "Your whole family be overturned~!"

They were really provoked and, together with the Qiu Family Manor people, charged at the short, stout man.

As a dozen blades came at him from all sides, his face turned fierce and he vigorously summoned his Inner Strength, spinning to the left, his left foot stepping forward and sweeping out, his right foot hooking in a follow-up~

The onlookers only saw his sword swing with great fury, step up to coil around the head, and step in to sweep with the blade!

"Zheng zheng zheng~~!"

The incoming swords and weapons were instantly swept aside by the vast Inner Strength, toppling four or five people, with another three or four stumbling back, grinding prints into the ground as they tried to dissipate the tremendous force.

The longsword in the short, stout man's hand broke into three pieces.

He cursed and tossed aside the sword hilt, forcing the oncoming guests to retreat.

With another display of Bone Shrinking Skill, he swept a long bench with his leg, knocking several Jiujiang Martial World people back, then rolled backward to evade another attacking guest's blade as it struck the ground.

In just a few moves, he had Zhao Rong watching from the side, eyes hardly keeping up.

"This man is skilled in combat, his experience in facing enemies is truly exceptional!"

Qiu Mengting seized the moment when the short, stout man was unarmed and thrust out obliquely from the side.

His sister Meng Yin swiftly followed!

Before Qiu could utter a word, the two of them had already taken positions to his left and right, one occupying the Zhen position and the other the Dui position. This tactic of dividing east and west was the quintessence of the Qiu family's techniques and complemented the Emei Moon Formation.

The short and stout man was at a disadvantage with bare hands, but his Bone Shrinking Skill was nothing short of miraculous.

It is said that with Dui comes joy, and with Thunder comes movement.

The siblings' moves, secretly aligned with the principles of the Bagua, had to follow the Tai Yi Jia Zi sequence. With one move of his Bone Shrinking Skill, the short man altered his form and broke their calculated sword techniques. Dodging their first strike, he threw them into disarray, their swordplay unstable.

"Hahaha~!"

The short, stout man suddenly let out a thunderous laugh. His Inner Strength exploded from his mouth, and although it lacked the ferocity of a Buddhist Lion's Roar, it still resonated through the station, unsettling the siblings.

Zhao Rong observed this astonishing technique with inner apprehension and couldn't help but touch the bag of lime powder he carried on him.

Watching the short, stout man step forward and bump with the side of his round body, his Inner Strength burst forth, causing Qiu Mengting to be disarmed of his longsword. Instantly, he changed his hand technique to the Phoenix Eye Hammer, striking Qiu Mengting's acupoint with brutal force.

The young man couldn't even let out a wail before he plummeted to the ground.

Meng Yin, in great urgency, swung her sword to his aid.

She thrust at his left shoulder to force him to withdraw his hands, a clean and decisive move. But the short, stout man, having predicted this, sneered sinisterly and grabbed the longsword with four fingers. With a burst of strength, he shattered it and flung the broken piece towards the charging Qiu Guangjun.

By the time Qiu managed to deflect the broken sword with his own blade, his eyes were bloodshot.

All he saw was the short, stout man raising a single palm and striking towards Meng Yin.

This blow would certainly leave her gravely injured if not dead!

Qiu Guangjun's heart sank, and he bellowed, "Stop!"

At the crucial moment, his prematurely white hair fluttered towards the direction of the short, stout man, and a gray figure shot past with the sound of rushing wind.

Meng Yin saw it.

The 'Uncle Zhao' whom they had inwardly disrespected suddenly appeared!

Right in front of her.

A hand as white and slender as that of someone not a dart master emerged from his sleeve, delicate and graceful as a butterfly flitting through flowers, yet eerily accompanied by a rustling sleeve sound.

"The human body is a microcosm incomparable to all things. With the quality of illusion, it is but the surplus of Qi."

Zhao Rong ruminated in silence.

His hands in an instant returned to his waist, palms turning upward, his right palm forming an arc and presenting a bizarre pose before the short man, then a breath surged to his Divine Palace acupoint, faintly emitting a white light.

Zhao Rong raised his palm as if plucking the white light.

His eyes widened as nine-tenths of his strength surged forth.

It was the Muscle-Tendon Change Scripture's technique of Plucking Stars to Exchange the Northern Dipper!

The smile disappeared from the short man's face. He saw the white vapors emerging from the eyes of the man who had appeared before him, with Palm Strength that had become a fierce wind.

"Buzz buzz~~!"

Their palms met in a collision of fierce Inner Strength.

Zhao Rong was taken aback, feeling the endless power of the opponent's Inner Strength and was unable to gauge its depth.

This was unquestionably a master!!

Although he had practiced Divine Skills, his experience was still insufficient compared to the seasoned fighters of the Martial World. He had not yet lost solely because the Inner Strength from the Muscle-Tendon Change Scripture was vast and pure. Continuing the fight meant certain defeat for him.

The stout man engaging in palm strikes was even more petrified.

Drawing in a strong breath of True Qi, he intended to annihilate his enemy swiftly, but the opponent's Inner Strength was overwhelming and fierce, like dragons and tigers, not to be easily subdued...

"Goddamn it, where did this brat come from!"

"Was he practicing in his mother's womb!"

The short, stout man, who had been unrivaled around Mount Heng, was for the first time concerned for his life.

He was stubborn and wanted to fight this 'brat' to the end.

But...

Catching sight of Lu Gui and Qiu Guangjun rushing up from the corners of his eyes, the short, stout man gritted his teeth and had no choice but to draw up his strength for one mighty push against Zhao Rong's Palm Strength before withdrawing forcibly!

With that, the short man suffered a great loss, spewing a mouthful of blood.

Zhao Rong was also in bad shape, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

This time it was real, not feigned.

He staggered back, rolling on the ground with Meng Yin behind him.

The girl cushioned his fall, slightly repaying the debt for saving her life.

The short, stout man was flung by Zhao's Palm Strength and, utilizing his Bone Shrinking Skill, rolled up into a ball and managed to roll out of the station's tea house with the momentum.

By the time Lu Gui and Old Qiu gave chase, the short man had resumed his normal posture and was running for his life.

"You little rascal, I'll remember you!"

He yelled and screamed as he fled in embarrassment.

...