Chapter 125
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Within three days, the members of the Xuanye Sect who were detained by the Imperial Guards revealed the locations of all the sect’s branches scattered across different regions.
This incident quickly shocked the martial arts world.
People in the martial arts world were speculating about the court’s stance. Did they intended to thoroughly reform the martial arts sects or to use this as a warning to others?
Sects that could thrive in both righteous and ruthless paths were generally immune to government suppression since it involved the mutual interests of both parties.
Martial artists could involve themselves in matters that the court was reluctant to deal with, such as gambling and the brothel industry. Basically, certain prominent underground gangs were covertly generating substantial profits, which also served as a revenue stream for local governments.
For instance, in terms of speech censorship, Great Qi did not have a dedicated imperial secret service organization. Successive emperors had been concerned about maintaining an image of enlightenment and generosity. Occasionally, disgruntled scholars gather informally.
This gave rise to some academic expressions of dissent against the court that stopped short of violating the law. At such times, martial arts sects may inexplicably start causing trouble for these academic groups.
Those familiar with the workings of both the righteous and ruthless paths could easily guess who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Therefore, in any era, martial arts sects could only thrive for two main reasons: either politicians behind the scenes turn a blind eye, maintaining the sect’s existence through mutually beneficial relationships, or the court was ineffective and could not suppress them.
Great Qi clearly fell into the former category. The martial arts sects were somewhat affiliated with the court. Therefore, people in the martial arts world speculate that the reason Xuanye Sect was eradicated was likely due to their greed for forbidden interests, resulting in an unsightly demise as a warning from the court.
So, this sudden commotion unexpectedly triggered a frenzy among various small and large sects to settle all aspects of their income, voluntarily paying “overlooked taxes” to the government in a bid for self-preservation.
Hence, the intentions from higher authorities were beyond prediction. Who would have thought that the imperial Forbidden Army would suddenly mobilize to besiege a small sect, merely to search for a young attendant from the imperial household?
By the third day of the siege operation, the leader of Xuanye Sect and his daughter were captured in the woods on the outskirts of the capital.
Shortly afterward, the whereabouts of the young attendant were uncovered.
Xue Yao had been safely escorted back to the capital by sect members yesterday, but on the way, a mysterious green-clothed expert abducted him. When the coachman returned alone to report the incident, the sect master arranged for three elders to venture out in pursuit. Currently, there was no update on their progress.
Consequently, the Forbidden Army received new orders, shifting their mission from clearing Xuanye Sect to hunting down the green-clothed man.
The intentions from higher authorities became increasingly mysterious and unpredictable.
“Seventh Brother, think carefully again. Have you offended any renowned martial artist in this past year?” Since Old Sixth left the palace, he had been urging his younger brother to reflect on his actions every day.
Lu Qian sat in the circle chair, still with closed eyes, deep in thought, choosing not to respond.
“Speak!” Old Sixth impatiently snapped.
Lu Qian opened his eyes, glanced at his sixth brother, and with an unusual hint of fierceness and impatience, said, “Your grandpa can only do some lightness skills. Who could be offended among the martial artists?”
In reality, this was Lu Qian misjudging his own swordsmanship.
Over this past year, he had mastered a versatile sword technique, renowned for its ever-changing forms. While not claiming invincibility, it was certainly rare to find a match for him.
However, Lu Qian had only encountered the Sword Saint and Master Xu among the martial artists. These two extraordinary experts could defeat him within eight rounds every time they sparred. Consequently, he believed his swordsmanship wasn’t outstanding, only his lightness skills were comparable to the Sword Saint’s, which he considered passable.
The Sword Saint felt somewhat sentimental about this. In just over a year of “casual” training, this kid, with astonishing talent, had developed lightness skills on par with his own. This failed to make the master proud and satisfied.
The master, who was thoughtlessly slapped to death on the beach, was extremely disappointed and impulsively wrote a disownment letter.
Initially hoping to have the disciple demonstrate filial piety, he didn’t expect the disciple to pack three jars of honey and leave the mountain without returning!
The Sword Saint sent a messenger pigeon to complain to his eldest disciple, expressing how deeply hurt he was by his youngest disciple. It angered him to the point of considering seclusion.
The eldest disciple, after reading the letter, was surprised. He initially thought the previous letter from the Xuanye Sect was just a hoax. Indeed, he now had a junior martial brother.
Consequently, the eldest disciple set aside all his current affairs and quickly went to investigate the captured last disciple, intending to personally avenge his master.
These were matters within the Sword Saint’s family. No one inside or outside the imperial city was aware of the details. Lu Qian was also completely unaware.
The most anxious person was Old Sixth. Since his seventh brother returned to the palace claiming to have lost Yaoyao, Old Sixth had slept for less than four hours in the past three days.
“Just arresting anyone in green isn’t a solution.” Old Fifth frowned, looking at his two younger brothers. “Continuing like this will only stir up public resentment.”
“We’ve already ruled out those without martial skills,” Old Sixth said. “We’ve let go of those who can’t fight. Capturing the green-clothed person might have some use for the next couple of days, but in a few days, the suspect might change attire.”
“In my opinion, this expert either wants to extort us or has mistaken the person. A’Yao is so well-behaved. Where could he have enemies?” Old Fifth said. “There’s probably nothing to worry about. Let’s be patient for a few days. Someone will come to us eventually.”
The words “A’Yao is so well-behaved” momentarily flashed countless images in Lu Qian’s mind.
All of them featured the little reader-in-waiting pouting with a slightly aggrieved expression.
Many things, when happening, may not catch the attention of those involved. Instead, they became vivid after experiencing loss.
In his memory, the little reader-in-waiting’s face, touched by moonlight, was translucently fair. His eyes were looking at him with a slightly unreasonable anger.
Previously, Lu Qian felt that the little reader-in-waiting’s anger often came abruptly and without reason.
Until this moment, he suddenly read the helplessness and reliance in those eyes, understanding the day they left the palace, the little reader-in-waiting’s serious expression as he packed his belongings, the trembling anxiety beneath the calm demeanor.
Xue Yao always seemed to prefer indirect, almost matter-of-fact ways to make others not abandon him, perhaps to avoid revealing that he was a troublesome and annoying character.
Unlike Lu Qian, he never dared to openly demand affection. Instead, he resorted to various indirect approaches, stealing bits of care to warm himself.
Lu Qian’s straightforward personality since childhood had prevented him from truly understanding the little reader-in-waiting until this moment. Now, he was beginning to comprehend, adding some new annotations to every expression of the little reader-in-waiting in his memory.
While he still couldn’t grasp the peculiar and circuitous way Xue Yao expressed himself, Lu Qian had already read the concealed overwhelming grievances and reliance beneath Xue Yao’s assertively calm demeanor.
“I can’t wait any longer!” Sixth Brother suddenly slammed the tea table. “I’ll go south with the army to search. The sect master said A’Yao was abducted in those woods. The suspect might be living nearby. I’ll search every inn around there!”
“Alright,” Lu Qian stood up. “Let’s go.”
“Hey, you guys…” Old Fifth also stood up, surprised by his sixth brother’s unexpectedly stubborn moment. What was more, he never expected his seventh brother, usually rational to a fault, to have such emotional moments.
Xue Yao’s disappearance had brought out opposite characteristics in his two distinctly different brothers, achieving an astonishing consensus.
It was truly a historic moment.
The three brothers arrived at the woods where Xue Yao went missing, starting their search from the first inn to the south.
The coachman at the scene mentioned that the green-clothed man had come from the south. So, his resting place was likely somewhere south of this location.
Fortunately, men wearing green attire weren’t too common. Inquiring with the innkeeper, Lu Qian found that most of the green-clothed lodgers from the past three days were within the search area. However, he didn’t discover any highly skilled martial artists among them.
In the evening, Old Fifth called for tea at a roadside tavern, asking his brothers to sit and rest.
Old Sixth couldn’t help expressing dissatisfaction with his seventh brother, “Since you can’t protect A’Yao, you should have taken the guard with you when you left the palace. Now…”
A strange man’s voice came from behind, “Two pounds of pig’s head, pick the leaner ones.”
Lu Qian suddenly raised an eyebrow, his ears twitching slightly. The airflow around his body extended like countless invisible tentacles, probing toward the person buying pig’s head meat behind him.
“Another two jars of Daughter’s Red Wine,” the man said.
The innkeeper struck up a conversation, “Is Master hosting guests at home?”
“If a wanted notice is posted, and that mysterious expert is afraid of trouble, he might…” The Sixth Prince worriedly murmured.
Lu Qian whispered, interrupting him, “Look behind me — is the man buying meat wearing green clothes?”
Old Sixth was suddenly interrupted in his train of thought, annoyed, he turned to look, then his eyes widened, turned back, and answered in a low voice, “Yes… he’s wearing green clothes, with silver embroidered edges, a white patterned belt…”
Lu Qian cut him off, “What about weapons?”
“Seems to be a sword.”
“Seems?”
“Much longer than an ordinary sword. He’s carrying it on his shoulder.”
Lu Qian fell silent.
The three brothers instinctively held their breath.
As the man buying pig’s head meat hung two jars of wine on the sword hilt and lifted the pig’s head meat, turning around—
“Attack,” Lu Qian ordered, and the three brothers instantly rose, charging towards the man in green.
Old Sixth, disregarding gentlemanly demeanor, attempted a surprise attack from behind, aiming to disarm the man.
Unexpectedly, the man, burdened by the heavy wine jars, gracefully evaded the ambush, effortlessly breaking free from the trio’s encirclement. Light as a feather, he tiptoed away, escaping the combat zone.
The man in green turned, placing the wine jars hanging from the long sword on the ground, and lazily complained to the three brothers, “Watch your step. If you spill the fine wine, only Buddha can forgive you.”
Immediately, hundreds of imperial guards approached, surrounding the man in green.
“Bold words.” Old Fifth, without a second thought, unsheathed his sword and rushed forward, intending to personally subdue the suspect.
However, after just four exchanges, the sword in Old Fifth’s hand was knocked to the ground.
Old Sixth hurriedly stepped forward to pick up the sword, comforting his brother in a low voice, “Fifth Brother, calm down. This fellow’s cunning footwork indicates refusal to engage in a direct confrontation. But he won’t escape my baguazhang.”
After saying this, Old Sixth turned to attack, yet the man in green skillfully avoided his assault.
Old Fifth quickly stepped in to save face for his younger brother, “Let it go, Sixth Brother. We’ll spare him. Don’t lower yourself to the level of these riffraff. Let the guards tie him up for questioning.”
“Hmph.” Lu Qian unsheathed his sword, staring coldly at the man in green. “Your grandpa won’t allow him to be arrogant.”
“Seventh Brother!” Just as Old Sixth was about to dissuade him, he saw Lu Qian approach with the sword. Accidentally tripping on a pebble, Lu Qian instantly fell to one knee, as if offering a grand salute to the man in green.
The man in green: “……”
Old Fifth and Old Sixth quickly rushed forward to assist their brother. “Forget it, forget it… let him go.”
The man in green, who had initially felt the purple-clad youth had profound inner strength and some background, was now uninterested in further competition.
He lifted the sword and retrieved the fallen wine jug, swiftly leaping out of the encirclement, soon disappearing from sight.
Seeing that the opponent had indeed fallen for the trick, Lu Qian stood up and leaped to pursue.
Having recognized the depth of the man’s martial arts skills, no matter how many guards there were, they couldn’t stop him from escaping. To trace Xue Yao’s whereabouts, the only option was to find a way to make the man in green lower his guard and seize the opportunity to track him.
“Seventh Brother!” Old Fifth and the others wore expressions of astonishment.
Seventh Brother and the man in green disappeared into thin air.
•••
“Junior fellow disciple, it’s your turn.” A red-faced burly man tapped the chessboard, craning his neck with a playful look at Xue Yao, who was only wearing a thin undergarment. “Don’t worry, if you lose this game, you can take off your pants first. We’ll leave you with one piece of clothing.”
Xue Yao held a white piece in his hand, staring at the chessboard, his vision darkening, face turning red to the roots of his ears, feeling like everyone in the room was secretly mocking him.
The imagined jeering was ringing in his ears.
These bastards were deliberately humiliating him.
If he had known, he would have been better off choosing a martial arts contest, pretending to be injured to avoid further competition.
Now he had chosen a Go competition and had already lost four rounds. If he lost two more, he would have to undress in front of this group of men.
Undressing in front of men might not be a big deal, especially having been to public baths, but the current situation was unique.
The men in front of him were all disciples of the Sword Sect, where eight-pack abs were the standard.
Xue Yao, carrying the title of the Sword Saint’s closed-door disciple, would have only one ab if he stripped down. That wouldn’t cut it. Lu Qian’s face would be thoroughly disgraced for generations.
“Place your move, junior fellow disciple.” The red-faced guy urged with a playful smile.
Xue Yao, with the white piece between his index and middle fingers, hovered uncertainly above the chessboard.
Suddenly, a slender hand gripped his hand, slowly and steadily pressing the chess piece in his hand onto the board.
Xue Yao paused, turning his head to find that the man holding his hand was dressed as a shop assistant.
“What are you messing with!” The red-faced man, seeing that this move unexpectedly blocked his path to victory, erupted in anger. Waving his hand to dismiss the meddlesome shop assistant, he generously said to Xue Yao, “This move doesn’t count! Junior fellow disciple, please continue.”
Xue Yao looked down at the chessboard in confusion. He reached out to retrieve the chess piece when a familiar voice echoed from above.
“Place your move without regrets.”
That familiar voice!
Xue Yao’s heart skipped a beat. He slowly tilted his head, lifting his face to meet the calm tea-colored eyes.
“You…” Xue Yao was so surprised that his voice became hoarse.
“Need some assistance, honorable guest?” The person dressed as a shop assistant interrupted Xue Yao, offering a helping hand with a smile. “One hundred copper coins per game.”
Xue Yao: “……”
Was His Highness’ coaching fee this reasonable?
His chubby cub’s Go skills were extraordinary, already unparalleled at the age of thirteen!
“What help do you offer? Mind your own business!” The red-faced guy frowned, dismissing the “shop assistant.”
Lu Qian tilted his head, questioning with curiosity, “Afraid?”
The red-faced guy immediately stood up and scolded, “Afraid you can’t afford it! One thousand taels per game, dare to play?”
Lu Qian smirked.
Xue Yao: “……”
What was going on? His rebellious cub seemed to have become handsome in just a few days. Why did he smile like a genuine Long Aotian? It was really strange…
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