bookbashuk Chapter 6 "Where Wu Cheng First Made His Name in the Martial World!"
Chapter 6 "Where Wu Cheng First Made His Name in the Martial World!"
On the banks of the Yi River, a bluebird stands quietly, holding an umbrella.
The riverbank was humid, and a light drizzle was still trickling down the ribs of the oil-paper umbrella.
Four guards from the Divine Pivot Camp stood guard at the four corners, effectively blocking all escape routes. Among them, the guard with lewd eyes was fixated on Qingque's tall and exquisite figure, his tongue unconsciously licking his dry lips.
Wang Hu rested his hand on the hilt of his knife at his waist, remaining silent.
Qingque reached out from under the umbrella, and a few drops of spring rain fell on her pale, slender, yet calloused palm.
She suddenly laughed.
This smile was like a withered tree blossoming with flowers; the five guards stared at it involuntarily, their Adam's apples bobbing up and down.
Qingque seemed completely unaware of all of this.
"It's still a bit chilly in spring, Your Highness, please be careful not to catch a cold..."
Wang Hu bit his tongue hard, using the stinging pain to force himself back to his senses. "Miss Qingque, I'm sorry, we each serve our own masters. But you can rest assured, I will definitely not let you suffer humiliation or too much pain."
"I still have to serve Your Highness," Qingque murmured softly, without glancing at him.
Wang Hu said solemnly, "Miss Qingque, you can rest assured. His Highness will not travel fast on the road to the Yellow Springs, and you can still serve him then."
Qingque clenched her five fingers and crushed the raindrops in her palm.
"You mean well," she murmured softly, "but it's a pity... you won't live to see that day."
Before she finished speaking, she suddenly pulled her right hand, which was gripping the umbrella handle, outward!
A blinding flash of cold light sliced through the rain!
"His Highness once told me a story. He said he once saw a swordsman in a storybook. The swordsman's sword was so fast that he could pierce the throats of forty-nine people with one strike."
Zzzzz!
Wang Hu and his four companions felt a sharp pain in their throats, and then they heard Qing Que's murmur. Only after Qing Que finished speaking did they hear the sword's cry that tore through the spring rain.
With a slight turn of her wrist, Qingque returned the slender sword to the umbrella hilt.
"And I, I can already pierce the throats of 9981 people with a single sword."
Five lines of blood bloomed simultaneously at the throats of the five people!
Their long swords were barely half-drawn from their sheaths when their bodies crashed heavily into the puddle like broken sacks!
Qingque glanced sideways at the disguised wooden door not far away.
This was the exit of the secret passage beneath the woodshed of the inn. Having been reborn, she already knew it inside and out.
The bodies of those five guards were thrown into the river from here last night.
Now that all ten guards have been dealt with, only Megan Sheng remains.
"Your Highness, wait for me."
Thinking of His Highness's face, Qingque quickened her pace as she entered the secret passage.
But soon she heard heavy footsteps coming from ahead.
Judging from the footsteps and heavy breathing, the other party seemed to be seriously injured.
Qingque examined the fire folding device.
A moment later, she saw Mei Gengsheng running towards her with a pale face, and when he saw Qingque, he stopped in his tracks.
Then, a slow, leisurely sound of footsteps approached from behind him.
Megan gave a bitter laugh, turned around, and charged toward the direction of the footsteps.
"not good!"
Qingque's expression changed, and she also used all her strength to chase after them!
After chasing for only a few steps, Qingque stopped.
Because she saw that stunning sword strike that she had once memorized.
Mei Gensheng, with disheveled hair, stumbled and rushed toward Wu Cheng.
His face had long lost its rationality; all that remained in his eyes was the madness born of despair.
As Wu Cheng watched him rush over, he suddenly felt sorry for him.
After serving as a rootless eunuch in the palace for decades, he ended up being nothing more than a stray dog abandoned by the roadside.
But as pitiful as they may be, they still have to be killed.
Wu Cheng raised his hand, revealing the bamboo chopsticks he had casually taken when the table was smashed.
The bamboo chopsticks were about seven inches long, with a trace of off-white residue left by the dried porridge on the tips.
He held the bamboo chopsticks, and the sword and knife moves that Wang Dang and Li Changfeng used in their duel vividly appeared in his mind.
The moves flashed through his mind, then became blurry, and eventually he completely forgot them.
The next moment, he moved his hand.
The surging true energy of the "Heavenly Dao Scroll" flowed from the dantian into the arm, then from the arm into the fingertips, and finally into the seven-inch-long bamboo chopstick.
The bamboo chopsticks were covered with a layer of three-inch sword energy that emitted a white light.
Then Wu Cheng raised his hand and stabbed out with his chopsticks.
The sword energy at the tip of the bamboo chopsticks pierced the air, and Mei Gensheng saw a ray of light.
The light drew a white line in the dark passage, then swept across his throat.
Megan's hurried steps slowed to a halt, her eyes bulging as she stared intently at Wu Cheng.
He seemed to want to say something, but could only make a gurgling sound like bubbles bursting.
A red line appeared from his throat, and blood gushed out, flowing down his neck and into his collar.
His body swayed, and then he fell to the ground.
Wu Cheng clicked his tongue as the bamboo chopsticks in his hand burst into fluffy bamboo shavings. "I still need a good sword. At the very least, it should be made of rosewood or golden nanmu."
"Your Highness."
Qingque stepped forward, and Wu Cheng smiled and winked at her, "Sister Qingque, it seems things are going well on your end too?"
"It's all thanks to Your Highness's good fortune."
Qingque pursed her thin lips, her gaze still fixed on the bamboo shavings on his hand.
In the future, she saw many people who used swords.
Some sword flashes were like bolts of lightning, some like shooting stars, and some like splashing water.
But none of them are as good as His Highness's sword.
Because that wasn't swordsmanship at all; it was the sword intent that naturally arose after true qi had been condensed to its extreme.
His Highness's thrust with chopsticks had no moves or routines, but this simple thrust was more terrifying than any exquisite sword technique!
But that was the future prince in her memory; the prince now still seemed a bit immature.
Qingque reached out and took Wu Cheng's hand, then carefully cleaned the bamboo shavings off his hand. "Your Highness's sword intent is innate; even the disciples of the Seven Great Sword Sects who have practiced swordsmanship for twenty years may not be able to achieve it."
"Just a disciple?" Wu Cheng tilted his head and asked.
Qingque pursed her lips.
"It seems that if we want to continue to grow stronger, we still have to go to the Wentian Sect."
Qingque wanted to refuse, but as a maid, how could she possibly say such a thing?
Moreover, if Your Highness wishes to become stronger, you should indeed go to the Wentian Sect.
Because that woman is there...
After throwing Meigensheng's body into the Yi River, Wu Cheng stretched and turned to Qingque, saying, "Let's go, Sister Qingque. From now on, the sky's the limit, and the sea's the freedom to leap. We'll be free from all constraints!"
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Inside the inn, the old innkeeper was directing two waiters with a distressed expression as they carried the smashed wooden table, along with the table that had been damaged during the fight the day before, to the backyard.
"Shopkeeper, don't move it."
The old shopkeeper turned around and saw that Wu Cheng and Qing Que had returned at some point.
"Young master?" The old shopkeeper quickly stood up. "You're awake? How are you feeling?"
Wu Cheng smiled but didn't say anything. He simply walked to the sack that was still hanging in mid-air and tilted his head slightly to look at the broken rope.
The break in the hemp rope was a smooth cut, not a taut, fibrous mess.
Then he turned to look at the old shopkeeper, "I dodged the sandbag when it came crashing down. Shopkeeper, guess why I dodged?"
The old shopkeeper suddenly knelt down, his knees buckling. "Young master! Are you not stupid?! This old man..."
"No need to say anything," Wu Cheng said with a smile, lifting him up. "I had no choice, and I'm not blaming you."
"Thank you! Thank you, young master!" The old shopkeeper looked up, his face covered in snot and tears.
"No need for that. I'll show you the way." Wu Cheng pointed to the pile of wooden table wreckage on the ground. "Don't move this stuff. Just leave it here and fence it off."
"Then find a storyteller to tell the story of the two men's duel yesterday. When they become famous in the future, you can tell the passing merchants: 'Look, this is where the Five Tigers Severing Gate Blade King Wang and the Autumn Water Swordsman Li Changfeng fought and attained enlightenment. These tables and chairs were shattered by their sword energy and saber energy.'"
"So not only can you not move it, you also have to cordon off this place with ropes, put up a sign next to it that says 'The Relics of the Martial Arts Competition and Enlightenment of the Two Heroes Wang and Li,' and with storytellers talking about it every day, which traveling martial arts enthusiast wouldn't want to sit in the place where the two heroes fought? Just think about it, how could your shop's business be bad?"
"Besides, if someone wants to cause trouble, they'll think about whether the two of them will come back and reminisce about the past. You won't have to live in fear every day doing something that could cost you your head."
"Of course, if those two aren't famous, then you can make up a story about them becoming famous. After all, things in the martial arts world are a mix of truth and falsehood, and who can really tell the difference?"
The old shopkeeper's eyes gradually widened.
"By the way, the money is all in the shared room in the west wing. Consider the extra as compensation for the table and chairs. As for the rest... I'm sure the manager knows how to handle it."
After saying this, Wu Cheng turned and walked towards the gate.
The bluebird followed closely behind.
"Young Master!"
Wu Cheng stopped and turned his head.
The old shopkeeper quickly bowed and asked, "May I ask your honorable name, young master?"
"Wu Cheng, the 'Cheng' in 'a complete failure'." Wu Cheng laughed heartily, strode forward, and said, "The road ahead is long, we'll meet again someday."
The old innkeeper hurriedly chased after them out of the inn, only to see the sun rising over the mountain ridge on the opposite bank of the Yi River.
As the morning mist was illuminated by the sun, it draped the departing two figures in a golden veil.
The shopkeeper then slowly strolled back to the counter in the main hall, and then flipped over a sign that had several large characters written on it:
"The place where Wu Cheng, the great hero, first made a name for himself in the martial arts world!"
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Half an hour later, a girl appeared at the street corner of Longmen Ferry.
She was dressed in white, with a long sword hanging at her waist, the scabbard engraved with exquisite cloud patterns.
The girl was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with an extremely beautiful face and a very tall stature.
However, her eyes were very bright, and her eyebrows were not the typical willow-leaf eyebrows of a woman, but rather slightly upturned sword-shaped eyebrows.
Her sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes did not detract from her beauty; on the contrary, they added a touch of heroic spirit to her flawless face.
The girl stood at the street corner, looked around, and then walked towards the inn.
The old innkeeper greeted the visitor warmly, "Are you here for a meal or to stay the night, sir?"
He's run this shop for thirty-seven years and has seen countless people from all walks of life, but he's only ever seen a girl who looks like this once.
The first one was the girl Qingque who always had a cold face.
The woman raised her double eyelids and glanced around the inn lobby, but did not answer.
She glanced at the screen for a while before finally speaking.
"Shopkeeper, I want to ask you about someone." The girl's voice was clear and crisp, with a hint of excitement and anticipation. "Have you seen a young man, about fifteen or sixteen years old, and about this tall?"
She raised her hand and gestured at the position of her eyebrows.
The old shopkeeper thought for a moment before asking, "Does this person you're describing have any distinctive features?"
The girl in white smiled slightly, her bright eyes crinkling like stars, and raised her slender, white finger, saying, "Handsome and dashing."
The old shopkeeper was taken aback.
The girl smiled and held up her second finger, saying, "Handsome and dashing."
The old shopkeeper's mouth opened slightly.
"Highly skilled in martial arts." The girl wrinkled her delicate nose again and held up her third finger.
The old shopkeeper's mouth gaped open even wider.
"Finally, he's gentle and considerate." The girl held up four fingers, then lowered her hand and asked with a smile, "Has the shopkeeper met him?"
Do such people really exist?
"Sir, I have indeed never seen the young hero you mentioned. However, a young master did stay at the inn yesterday. He was indeed about fifteen or sixteen years old, and his height was about the same as you described, but..."
"Just what?"
The old shopkeeper hesitated for a moment before cautiously saying, "That young master is very innocent and doesn't seem to fit the person you're looking for."
"Pure?" The white-clad girl's already sparkling eyes shone even brighter. "Which way did he go?"
The old shopkeeper pointed eastward, "They went that way, they walked for about half an hour."
The girl nodded slightly, took out a silver ingot from her waist and tossed it to him, saying, "Thank you."
Before the old shopkeeper could even thank her for the silver, the white-clad figure appeared three zhang away in a flash, and disappeared at the end of the street in no time.
The innkeeper shuddered and hurried back to the inn.
The woman moved as fast as the wind, her lips slightly upturned, her starry eyes shining brightly.
"At this very moment, you should be about to be exposed by that eunuch Megan Sheng and pretend to be stupid to escape his pursuit... But you're not here now, so where could you be?"
"But wherever you go, you can't abandon me this time, my dear junior brother..."