Chapter 448: The Hardships of Jianghu
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
North Zhou Dynasty, Juyuan County, Merry Dawn Town.
Since it was near the border between the two countries of the Jin Dynasty, Leli was flooded with numerous accents from all sorts of places and many Jianghu members carrying their blades and swords came and went. As such, the most prosperous businesses in the town were none other than restaurants, inns, and traders selling delicacies from the North and South.
Inside one of the restaurants, a man with a Lulong-sounding accent spat everywhere as he cried, “Damn it! Southern Jin Dynasty’s Ranking List of Young Masters always looks down on us heroes from Great Zhou Dynasty! Why is there only the Cao family’s Lady Cao in the top ten names? How about Pure Sun Sect’s Tian Ce? How about Sword-enshrining Tower’s Wen Renan? How about Huamei Heights’ disciple heirs?”
North Zhou Dynasty had Six Fan School as well, but because the aristocratic families and imperial court had been repressed by the sects, their presence was rather weak. They couldn’t do anything about the Ranking Lists. They even had to cower, staying in their lanes in places where there were powerful sects. They could only attend to trivial matters like suppressing the common people and frightening thieves and rascals. When it came to squabbles between the sects, they stayed far, far away.
Under such circumstances, the Ranking Lists published by Great Jin Dynasty’s Six Fan School were the only such ranking lists. No matter how upset the North Zhou Dynasty heroes were, they could only grudgingly accept it; however, they would often accuse it of being unfair and regard it as beneath their true status.
“Exactly!” The man next to him agitatedly slapped his thigh. “How many rats could the Southern Jin Dynasty possibly plant in our Great Zhou Dynasty? How much about Jianghu could they possibly find out? Apart from the experts of the Exterior, everyone has their place and is renowned for it. They probably only know of the most illustrious among all the Enlightened Master Pros and have left out many people with excellent strength and realms with ‘not-as-outstanding’ battle records.”
The man with the Lulong accent gulped down a mouthful of wine. “Forget the ones they’ve missed! Look at that, how could the invincible Lady Cao who defeated all the enlightened apertures level masters in North Zhou Dynasty be ranked third? It is rumored that Pure Sun Sect’s Tian Ce has already achieved Oneness of Heaven and Men, and yet he’s only number 12.”
“You can say that he’s slightly worse than that fiendish Shangguan fellow– that we all admit. But Shangguan Heng has the battle strength of the Half-step Exterior Scenery level and is only rank 11th! Some Five Emperors’ Knife and Right-guarding Sword at the nine apertures level are ranked above him!”
“Aren’t they looking down on us?”
Filled with indignance, the man complained of the injustice towards the talents of the North Zhou Dynasty’s Martial Artists Community, although he was definitely a stranger to them.
For the past half a year, Buddhist Heart Palm Xuan Zhen had remained unaffected by He Jiu and Wang Siyuan’s direct breakthroughs to the Exterior level and had achieved a perfect Half-step level; the conventional way of progressing. Hence, the top five on the list were, in order, Wolf King Tie Sheng, Killing Blade Su Meng, Modest Deity of the Earth Cao Er, The Unstoppable Yan Chong, and Bliss Mendicant Xing Yi.
Seated at the table next to them were two men and a woman, all dressed in merchant clothes. The one heading the trio stroked his beard as he stared at his drinking cup. As if he were speaking to the air, he began, “Great Jin Dynasty’s Ranking List of Young Masters looks at battle records. Mere bragging does nothing. It may be assumed that Shangguan Heng has the battle prowess of the Half-step Exterior Scenery level, but has he ever bested a Half-step level master in combat, or killed a master of that realm in a one-on-one fight? Are there any battle records that validate his battle strength?”
“Tian Ce’s achieving the realm of Oneness of Heaven and Men is but a rumor. It has never been demonstrated or seen by anyone, so on what basis would anyone believe it?”
The one who had spoken was a lean middle-aged man. Based on his way of speech, it was clear that he was from the Great Jin Dynasty.
“Pssh! Shangguan Heng and Tian Ce don’t have the corresponding battle records, but people like Super Purple Sword, Five Emperors’ Knife, and Right-guarding Sword ranked above them have records? As if they didn’t rely on sparring with one another to benefit all of them and be able to rank at the top! Hmph, us heroes from Great Zhou Dynasty don’t fake results like that. If we fight they’ll be fights to the death!” The man with the Lulong accent raged.
On the left of the thin man was a beautiful young girl with narrow, upward-slanting eyes who giggled upon hearing those words. “It’s not as if Master Lotus has never roamed the North Zhou Dynasty. Apart from Modest Deity of the Earth who narrowly defeated him by one move, where are the other North Zhou Dynasty Enlightened Master Pros? Five Emperors’ Knife and Right-guarding sword are on par with him in terms of combat!”
Both battles had their own unique traits and had been friendly spars. Master Lotus Liu Su had never struggled for his life before. After being driven into a corner and barely fending off Qing Yu’s fatal move that had been derived from Heavenly Emperor Tramping Times, he had not fought back, but chose to end the match as a draw instead. On the other hand, Wang Zai’s Unstoppable Strike had always increased in power as his opponents grew stronger. If his opponent was not willing to take things a little further, he would have no choice but to end it as a draw.
With Master Lotus used as an example, the man with the Lulong accent and his friend were unable to rebut her argument.
The man hemmed and hawed for quite some time before he finally managed to spit, “That was in the past! We’re talking about the present. Master Lotus has stagnated for so long, while Tian Ce, Shangguan Heng, and the various sects’ heirs have made tremendous improvements. Maybe they’ll be able to defeat him now.”
“If they’ve never fought, it can’t be counted.” The thin middle-aged man looked like he could not even be bothered to refute him.
The man with the Lulong accent sensed his condescending attitude and exclaimed, irate, “So what if they’ve never fought? The number one on the list, Wolf King, has made a name for himself for many years and has killed countless masters, but what about the guy ranked second? The Killing Blade has never really battled any of the top ten on the Ranking List of Young Masters, has he? He is either forced to flee or barely fights them! He’s only slightly over 19 and has probably just opened his nine apertures, but he’s been propped up to such a high rank! It’s practically an insult to all the other heroes!”
“If you can defeat three opponents by yourself, including killing a Heterodox Demon on the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery, and be evenly matched in a battle against Wolf King, you too can be number two on the list,” sniffed the young girl with the narrow eyes.
Regarding Meng Qi’s battle with Wolf King, those in favor of Meng Qi viewed them as evenly matched, whereas those who hated him felt that he had been forced to retreat.
“What Half-step Exterior Scenery-level Heterodox Demon? Obviously it was an alliance among the old and sick…” The other man growled as well.
“Alright, stop arguing.” Just then, a calm and indifferent voice piped up. A young man in the corner stood up. He was wearing brocade robes and had a jade piece hanging from his waist, but his thick and messy eyebrows were the most impressionable feature about him, alongside a pair of sharp eyes that seemed to hide a hint of brutality.
It was noisy in the restaurant, but his voice carried well and clear to everyone. Suddenly, all the chatter stopped, and the place was filled with a creepy pin-drop silence instead.
The young man walked over to the table where the narrow-eyed lady and the others were seated. He gently nodded as he said, “You’re right, arguing changes nothing. It all depends on the outcome of the fight.”
With that, he folded his arms behind his back and slowly sauntered out of the hall.
“He…” The lean middle-aged man had felt some kind of soul-stirring sensation, as if the young man before him were a beast in human skin.
The man with the Lulong accent stuttered, “Sh-Shangguan Heng, Shangguan Heng!”
Everyone was thrown into a state of shock. They would never have thought that the Shangguan family’s legitimate son, the man reputed for being fiendish, would actually appear in Leli.
It was perfectly normal for someone from the Shangguan family in Juyuan to appear in Juyuan County, but Leli was a different place altogether. It was the border between two countries, and had always been a chaotic place. No gentleman would want to be in such a dangerous location!
“Shangguan Heng…” The lean middle-aged man mumbled to himself. “Based on what he said, it sounds like he’s going to travel down South to fight one of the top ten on the Ranking List of Young Masters…”
The people in the restaurant stared at one another blankly, unsure of how to react for a moment.
With Shangguan Heng’s interruption, the noisy atmosphere could not be revived for a while. Everyone could only whisper amongst themselves, creating a low buzz.
Right at that moment, another young man walked through the door. He had beautiful facial features and a smile lingering on his lips as blue robes fluttered around his body leisurely. He seemed like an amiable and approachable person.
However, hanging from his waist was a strangely-shaped long saber. Even though it was sheathed in its scabbard, it still resembled a gaping wound.
He scanned the restaurant once before heading straight for the man with the Lulong accent. Smiling, he said, “I heard that the two of you are familiar with the city. I would like to ask about the address of a particular someone.”
As he spoke, he produced a silver tael and politely set it on the table, displaying the bearings of a refined young master.
Upon seeing him, the lean middle-aged man knitted his eyebrows together. That appearance, and that saber… It felt like he had heard about them before…
“I wonder who it is you’re looking for?” The man with the Lulong accent was capable of mingling in all sorts of places and could judge the young man quite well at a glance. He had noticed that the young man had an extraordinary air to him, and thus had lowered his volume and cleansed his speech of all vulgarities.
“The Si family, who moved to Leli five years ago.” The young man sounded gentle.
The man with the Lulong accent chuckled, reaching for the silver tael and holding it close to him. “Others might not know, but I’m very clear about that. After all, I handled the registering of their residence myself. They bought a mansion at the junction of Sunfacing Street and Pear Flower Alley.”
He paused, then added in a low voice, “Has the Si family man done something to offend you? He’s a shifty-eyed fellow; I can tell with one look that he’s not a good person. He never stays in Leli for more than six months a year.”
“Nothing of the sort. I’m here to visit a friend.” The young man smiled before walking out of the restaurant at a neutral pace.
The man with the Lulong accent turned around with the intent of continuing his argument with the table of Great Jin Dynasty people, when he spotted the unconcealable expression of shock on the middle-aged man’s face.
“K-Killing Blade Su Meng!” He blurted, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.
“What?” The man with the Lulong accent and his friend were just as stunned.
…
The Si family was actually another name for the Sikong family. Nobody would have guessed that Master Thief Sikong Tu, the one who terrorized River East, had moved his family to a small city at the border of the North Zhou Dynasty.
Leli was a place where the good and the bad mingled, so it had been easy for him to hide his tracks. On top of that, since Juyuan’s Shangguan family and the nearby sects maintained order, it was not a place beyond the reach of law, but the best option for a thief to spend his old age after abandoning the life of a criminal.
Meng Qi did not directly travel up North. Instead, he made a detour and headed Northeast first in order to bring an end to the karma and obtain secret techniques.
A series of knocking sounds rang out as Meng Qi tugged on the metal rings and knocked on the door.
The Sikong family’s manor sat on a vast piece of land. There were two stone statues of lions in front of the door, a clear indication that the residence belonged to a prominent family.
“Creak!” A short while later, someone pulled open the small door and poked his head out, looking Meng Qi up and down. Doubtfully, he asked,
“Dear gentleman, may I know why you have come to the Si family’s residence?”
“I am old friends with Mister Si De. He has asked me to deliver a letter.” Meng Qi smiled warmly.
Si De was Sikong Tu’s alias.
Upon hearing news about his master, the gatekeeper hurriedly asked Meng Qi to wait for a moment while he scurried in to report the matter to the madame.
He quickly reappeared and stepped out of the door to welcome Meng Qi in. He bowed and said, “Please enter, sir. The madame is waiting for you in the study room.”
Meng Qi nodded and followed him into the manor. After passing through two courtyards, he saw a young boy of around six or seven years old. He was holding a small wooden sword and performing various poses in the empty space, swinging the sword around as he shouted with every stroke. Although he was not following any particular order of moves or forms, he was brimming with interest. Beads of sweat were rolling off his forehead and body but he did not appear to be tired in the least.
“Forget about fleeing, you notorious robber! Have a taste of my sword!” The small boy shouted at the butler who was playing along with him.
Meng Qi was suddenly hit with a wave of sorrow. This kind of happy family life was exactly what Sikong Tu had strived for, but now that he had perished in a foreign land, he would never be reunited with his loved ones.
Dismissing those thoughts, Meng Qi followed the gatekeeper past the empty space and through the winding corridor until they arrived outside the study room.
“Come in.” The gentle and melodious voice of a woman came from inside the room.
The gatekeeper bowed and left, while Meng Qi pushed the door to the room open and stepped in.
In the room stood a woman in plain clothes with her hair tied in a bun. She was dressed like the wife of the master of the household, appearing charming yet miserable.
After Meng Qi closed the door behind him, a smile carrying inexplicable grief spread across her lips.
“If he hasn’t returned by the end of October, he probably never will.”