Chapter 75

Merchants starting a business absolutely never have a reason to reject people at their

door, especially not such a remarkable character as this one. What young woman

would not feel a sudden rush of restlessness at sight of him, or even a sudden

affection?

Even Su-niang's smile had become more distinct at that moment.

Yan Wushi had wanted to pick out two outfits at first, but after hearing her words,

instead had a change of heart: "In that case, you must have ready-made women's

clothes, correct?"

"Yes, of course!" Su-niang's smile did not change, though she couldn't help but feel a

little disappointed deep down.

Such a handsome langjun as this looked quite proud and overbearing. Furthermore, he

did not look like someone who could be controlled by the likes of a gentle and docile

woman. Yet what was he doing here, personally buying clothes for some young

woman?

Half a month earlier, the two of them had left the cave in the mountains and headed

south. Up until yesterday, they had reached Tongsu County in Fengzhou, which was not

far from Hanzhong, and decided to rest there.

Shen Qiao was of a quiet temperament; if he were left to practice wugong at the inn all

day, he would not mind how dull it was. Yan Wushi, on the other hand, went out on his

own.

For the purpose of keeping themselves safe, they would naturally refrain from going

out at all before arriving at Chang'an. Anyone could see that this was the most

appropriate thing to do. But this was impossible right from the start. In order to eat and

room somewhere, you'd need to find an inn. If he was going to cower from fright at the

smallest possibility of danger, then that wouldn't be Yan Wushi.

He had wanted to purchase two sets of clothes before, but upon hearing Su-niang's

words, decided to change his mind.

Su-niang asked: "Does langjun wish to buy this for a lover, for his sister, or for his older

relatives?"

"Yan-zongzhu, your words are truly ridiculous. Someone could have even thought that

Huanyue Sect was noble and virtuous from just that. But the truth is that Huanyue Sect

is a slave of Yuwen Yong's, isn't it? What a pity that Yuwen Yong's life won't be very

long. Without your protection, I'm afraid that your disciples and subordinates must

seem even more wretched than that of a stray dog!"

A cold laugh accompanied her words. Before Yan Wushi, another person appeared.

If Shen Qiao were here, he would have recognized who it was with a glance.

"If they aren't capable and need to rely on my protection for everything, then they

should save me the trouble and hurry up and die faster for me!"

Yan Wushi looked at

Xiao Se and shook his head. "And you. My sympathies to Yuan Xiuxiu for taking in an

ingrate of a disciple who spends his days fooling about with Sang Jingxing. But Sang

Jingxing's eyes aren't anything special either. That disciple of his, Huo Xijing. Though

his behavior was completely mindless, at least his wugong was somewhat presentable.

And here you are. Not only do you have a completely useless brain, even your wugong

is completely worthless. Looks like Hehuan Sect is fated to get worse with each

generation."

Xiao Se was enraged, yet he grinned: "Yan-zongzhu, you're showing off your words so

quickly. Hopefully you won't kneel and beg for forgiveness after!"

With Xiao Se and Bai Rong's skills together, they could be considered first-class in all of

jianghu. If the two of them were to join forces, then with Yan Wushi's present condition,

it would be quite difficult if he wanted to repel them. However, Yan Wushi's present

objective was not fixed on either of them at the moment. Rather, it was on the person

slowly approaching him from behind.

"Were you all waiting here this long just for me?"

Bai Rong spoke in a sweet voice: "We heard that Xueting-chanshi met with you once in

Weizhou, and lost track of Yan-zongzhu afterwards. Yan-zhanglao said that

Yan-zongzhu must certainly have gone to Chang'an, but since you were avoiding your

enemies, you would surely not take the shortest route there. Therefore, we took the

long way around, and decided to wait a bit in Fengzhou. We didn't think that things

would be just as Yan-zhanglao said!"

"However, Yan-zongzhu, there is no need to be upset. Even if you were to have taken a

different route, it would be no use. Hanzhong has the Liuhe-bang's people, and

Yangzhou has Tujue's people. You're surrounded no matter where you go. There's

nowhere you can escape to. If you have to blame something, then blame it on the fact

that your enemies are just too many. Everyone in the world wants to end you. Even if a

god were to come help, it would be no use."

The person who said this was Yan Shou.

He approached them step by step, his pace

incredibly slow, and quite firm. His eyes did not part from Yan Wushi even the slightest

bit, as though he were a cheetah, prepared and waiting for action from its prey. At any

time, he could pounce on him and use his sharp teeth to tear his enemies apart.

Yan Wushi burst into laughter: "God? I've never believed in any god!"

The moment he said this, he made his first move!

His hair, raven-black; his clothes, sky blue. His silhouette, tall and elegant,

resembled that of an immortal.

—WHEREVER THE THREE CHARACTERS OF YAN WUSHI'S NAME WOUND UP, they

carried a frightening gravity—despite the fact that these three knew that the five great

masters had made an attempt on his life, and despite the fact that they knew that his

wugong was almost completely lost and his present strength was not as great as it was

before. They hardly needed Sang Jingxing to personally show up. The strength of

these three were more than enough to rely on to bring him down.

However, even as they thought this, not a single one moved at all. An undercurrent

surged up from within Hehuan Sect. From the movements of Xiao Se and the rest,

anyone would be able to see this.

Yan Shou once lost at Yan Wushi's hands—additionally, he had lost in a completely

miserable state. This time, he arrived not because of the rumored lost volume of the

Zhuyang Ce in Yan Wushi's possession, but because the day of his crushing defeat had

such a deep impression upon Yan Shou. Though he appeared composed and

undisturbed before Yan Wushi, something that suggested otherwise arose in his heart.

Xiao Se was Yuan Xiuxiu's disciple. However, he wanted to take Yan Wushi's head to

Sang Jingxing and take credit for killing him. However, seeing that no one else moved,

he did not move either.

All four people faced each other, creating a sort of strange situation. Hehuan Sect

clearly had the upper hand; however, they decided not to act first.

Yan Shou narrowed his eyes. He observed Yan Wushi closely, waiting for him to make

the smallest misstep.

Yan Wushi finally moved.

support him by arm. However, this way she could easily avoid facing Yan Wushi

head on, so she didn't mind exhibiting a false sense of fraternal affection.

Xiao Se's setback caused Yan Shou to delay his attack somewhat, despite the latter

having been prepared to strike earlier. However, he still chased the other man and

obstructed his path.

"Yan-zongzhu. For what reason are you running off in such a hurry? Don't you want to

reminisce about the years past with your old friend?"

"I would also like to reminisce with Yan-zhanglao. I must ask Yan-zhanglao, are you

presently free?"

The person who responded was not Yan Wushi, but someone from behind Yan Shou.

Upon hearing these words, Yan Shou did not turn around. Instead, he leapt to the roof

of a building, so as to look down on this newcomer.

"If it isn't the stray dog coming around once more," he said with disdain.

Shen Qiao carried his sword on his back, walking towards them with an unhurried pace

from the other end of the street.

His hair, raven-black; his clothes, sky blue. His silhouette, tall and elegant, resembled

that of an immortal.

"Yan-zhanglao has yet to repay to this poor daoist the debt of the two lives he took at

Bailong Temple," Shen Qiao said. "Do you still remember?"

"I had heard for a long time that the person to whom the former zhangjiao of Xuandu

Mountain, Qi Fengge, handed his legacy down to was a man whose wugong was

unrivaled in all of jianghu," Yan Shou said. "A pity that he lost and fell from a cliff in his

battle with Kunye, and was never well-regarded since, and can only rely on Yan Wushi

to protect him. The way I see it now, it seems that the rumors are not necessarily

untrue."

Shen Qiao said, indifferently: "Then I cannot help but wonder if Yan-zhanglao has

heard that Kunye, upon causing trouble at the Bixia Sect of Taishan mountain, met his

death by my sword?"

Yan Shou's face betrayed a faint look of astonishment.

After Kunye's death, the Bixia Sect suffered an almost total collapse due to the internal

disorder from before, and has been occupied with recuperating. The Tujue people

could not possibly take this matter and make it public. As a result, they concealed

Kunye's death. Everyone still believed that he had returned to Tujue--no one could

have imagined that he was killed by Shen Qiao.

Bai Rong laughed sweetly: "It's hardly been a few months, yet Shen-lang's wugong has

progressed so! It's truly something worthy of celebration! However, our zongzhu has

already ordered us to take the remaining volume of the Zhuyang Ce from Yan Wushi.

Sang-zhanglao and Baoyun-zhanglao are on the way here now. Shen-lang, your

wugong is certainly strong, but you're certainly not yet capable of taking on all of

Hehuan Sect are you? And besides, this matter doesn't even concern you. Why don't

you just stand back and watch?"

"Hmph. Since you've already come, there's no need to leave! You might as well stay a

while!" Yan Shou said coldly.

Yan Shou's nickname was the "Bloodstained Monk". His wugong was the sort that

was both reserved and gentle, yet severe and ruthless. However, the sight of the

fingers of his right hand bent into those of a claw and thrust in Shen Qiao's direction

sending a cold breeze into his face resembled that of a demon's cry. All around him

were mountains of corpses and oceans of blood, no different from that of the

underworld.

They were immediately submerged in a foreboding omen that filled all the

sky with a rush of dread and hopelessness.

Shen Qiao leapt backwards, unsheathing the Shanhe Tongbei sword at the same time.

Immediately his jianqi was like that of a rainbow, rising up to illuminate the clouds,

enveloping Yan Shou's imposing figure in but a moment.

Yan Shou chased after him relentlessly. Both his hands rushed in the direction of Shen

Qiao's attack as though to dispel it. He even performed three or four open palm

maneuvers, each one as fast as lightning, unable to be completely seen.

Each maneuver came down in torrents like that of an ocean, each wave stronger than

the other—there was no opportunity for his opponent to react!

Though Yan Shou was not considered one of the ten greatest martial artists in the

world, this did not mean that his wugong was ordinary. When Yan Wushi had gone into

seclusion for the past ten years, Huanyue Sect's central focus was operating within the

imperial court of Northern Zhou, while Fajing Sect went further out into Tuyuhun. Only

Hehuan Sect remained in the Central Plains, having developed especially well under

the power of the country of Qi.

And Yan Shou played a significant role amongst the

many members of Hehuan Sect, one that was equal to even that of Sang

Jingxing—clearly, this simply wasn't because he happened to be pretty.

Shen Qiao carried his sword in his hand. The blade of the sword cut a length that filled

the sky, its light dazzling the eyes. In a moment, all was inverted like a reflection upon a

body of water, as stern and cold as ice and snow. Following it was the sense of

murderous intent, engulfing everything in its path, passing through like that of a chilled

wind brushing through trees!

Though this battle was only then becoming satisfying to watch, it wasn't as though the

other was going at a leisurely pace. Xiao Se and Bai Rong, standing side by side at first,

started towards Yan Wushi, before each one blocked him from in front and behind,

leaving him unable to escape.

As he fought with Yan Shou, Shen Qiao caught sight of Bai Rong and Xiao Se's offense.

He could not help but knit his brow.

The two of them were the greatest masters of Hehuan Sect's youngest generation.

Without considering that of the elders, it was quite certain that one would have to say

that their wugong was the best. Xiao Se and Bai Rong's natural talent were similarly

great. Every time one would meet them, it would seem as though their wugong had

once more improved and reached yet another level unceasingly. Especially Bai Rong.

When Shen Qiao had first met her, the girl had only been one notch above ordinary;

but now, her skill had improved vigorously. Her signature move, Qinglian Seal, had

already attained its highest perfection. Her lithe and graceful figure concealed such

murderous intent that was difficult for anyone to guard against.

Shen Qiao was very aware that Bai Rong had been merciful to him several times.

Earlier, she had secretly clarified, with great intensity, that Sang Jingxing was on his

way, so as to force Shen Qiao not to pay attention to such matters that did not concern

him.

However, this softness she treated Shen Qiao with was completely lost on Yan

Wushi. At that moment, she was cooperating with Xiao Se against him, their every

move filled with the intent to kill, more and more forming a tight encirclement around

him. They shared some implicit understanding of something they did not keep from

the other, and had simply cornered Yan Wushi all around.

Because Yan Wushi had suddenly inflicted such wounds upon Xiao Se, the two of them

were anxiously vigilant. They were unwilling to use all of their energy; however, only

Shen Qiao understood that Yan Wushi's strength was limited. He had not yet

recovered, and certainly was unlike that of when his skill had flourished. To have been

able to seriously injure Xiao Se was already the limit of his skills.

To face off with Bai

Rong, whose skill had improved significantly, was already something he would only

barely be able to do. If they lingered on for too long, the two of them would certainly

be able to sense out where everything exactly stood. They certainly would not hesitate

any longer and would use up all of their strength to deal with Yan Wushi.