Chapter 231: Senior and Junior

Cao Changqing and the Emperor were playing chess. The chief eunuch bent over, holding the chess box, and the Empress, noticing the ribbon on his official hat was askew, reached out her slender hand to tighten it for him. The Emperor, fond of the graceful and brilliant scholar by his side, merely smiled knowingly at this, showing no anger. This pleasant tale was distorted through word-of-mouth, later circulated among scholars and literary circles as "Master Cao, drunk, squeezed the chess pieces, called the chief eunuch by his name, and shouted 'take off my boots, servant!'" sparking endless imagination among scholars. However, such scholarly romanticism was only possible in the Western Chu Dynasty. The current imperial court, and most common martial artists, are far from possessing such poetic and picturesque charm. When a great literatus sings of the mighty Yangtze River with a *tieban pipa* (iron lute), it is undoubtedly grand and heroic. Yet, for the common folk who toil on the river day and night, if the harvest is poor, they might just spit on it a few times. The dead bodies lying before the Fish-Dragon Gang, those who tried to snatch a manual but lost their lives instead, weren't they just fulfilling the old saying: "a hand falls, a blade strikes, and a person is carried away"? Xu Fengnian quietly dismounted and went over to the bodies. He squatted down and rummaged through them, seemingly trying to loot the dead. Liu Nirong was already embarrassed by her gang members' actions, but seeing Xu act so disregardful of martial ethics, she turned her head away. As for the teasing words of the Qi Sword Music House swordsman, besides the feigned anger she had to show her gang members, she was already numb inside. Whether it was Zhou Ziru, who relied on power to kill, or this Northern Barbarian swordsman, who gained a manual through quick wit and schemes—weren't they all the same kind of people, outwardly refined but inwardly rotten? While she resented Xu, she actually preferred his straightforwardness; at least when he acted like a villain, he never pretended otherwise. The lecherous fop from Qi Sword Music House wasn't foolish either. After having his fill of verbal abuse, he sped away. However, after only seven or eight *zhang* (measures of length) he was intercepted by someone—it was the hawk-nosed old man in gray, who had circled back to the dangerous spot. The old man naturally had a fierce appearance, with dark purple lips. He chuckled sinisterly, "Wang Weixue, in this game of cat and mouse, you're the one who used the most tricks. In the end, your cleverness will backfire. After I kill you, I'll take *Qingfu* and frame these cold barbarians."

Wang Weixue showed no fear upon seeing the hawk-nosed old man. He pulled out the manual, still warm from his embrace, and chuckled, "Old Immortal Song, you jest. Where is this cat-and-mouse? It's clearly a cat overestimating itself and trying to catch a tiger. Before I left Qi Sword Music House, my masters instructed me merely to borrow it from Old Song, and I would certainly return it with both hands afterwards. It wasn't stealing. But if Old Song is unwilling to lend it, I'll return it to its rightful owner; no need for Old Song to exert himself. However, the jianghu says Old Song is vengeful and clearly distinguishes between favors and grudges. I, Wang Weixue, am young and dare not be certain if I've angered Old Song?"

The old man in gray narrowed his eyes and said grimly, "Since you, my good grandson, are sensible, I'm too lazy to indiscriminately kill. Don't worry, return *Qingfu* to me, and I naturally won't quibble with a junior like you. Speaking of which, I'm of the same generation as your martial grand-uncle, Wang Hefe, the 'Character of Benevolence' Sword. If I'm not mistaken, this *Qingfu* from the Wu Family Sword Tomb is wanted by your interesting master. Don't worry, kid, once I've comprehended the sword manual, I'll naturally come to your Qi Sword Music House for an exchange. Don't delay any longer, hand it over!"

Seeing the notorious demon's violent gaze, Wang Weixue did not hesitate to throw the extraordinary top-tier manual. The old man in gray took it, stuffed it into his sleeve without looking, and then reached out again, grinning menacingly, "Good grandson, don't test my patience. If you're not more honest, I'll take your life! Even if those people are right here, if I'm determined to kill you and leave, it'll be easy."

Wang Weixue smiled innocently, quickly pulled out a page torn from the *Qingfu* sword manual, crumpled it up, and threw it to the demonic giant. He praised, "Old Song, you predict things like a god! Such a petty trick truly cannot escape the divine eyes of an old immortal. Wang Weixue is impressed."

The old man in gray unfolded the page. After confirming it, his face changed erratically, as if he was contemplating whether to crush this junior from Qi Sword Music House. Wang Weixue stood still, looking innocent, and said, "Does Old Song perhaps want my martial grand-uncle to come out of seclusion early for a reunion?"

The old man in gray, having regained the manual, touched his hawk nose. The gloom in his eyes dissipated, and he laughed heartily, "Your temperament, grandson, is quite unlike those rigid fellows from Qi Sword Music House. What a pity you chose the wrong master. If I had seen you earlier, perhaps I would have taken you in as a disciple and carefully cultivated you."

Wang Weixue, having lost the manual, looked even happier and laughed, "What a pity for Old Song's misplaced affection. It seems I don't have that great fortune."

The old man turned and sped away, his figure like a falcon. In a few leaps, he vanished without a trace.

Xu Fengnian rummaged for a long time. Apart from a few hundred taels of silver notes and a few porcelain bottles, he found no manuals. It seemed these martial artists also knew that snatching manuals was a life-threatening business and hadn't dared to carry truly valuable items. The old man in gray, who dared to disrespect Qi Sword Music House, was clearly not a weak opponent. Just by his *qinggong* (lightness skill), he was steadily in the second-grade realm. To snatch something from such a person, one wouldn't dare join the fray without some exceptional skills. Moreover, the most deadly aspect of fighting for manuals was guarding against hidden attacks from all sides. When the Spring and Autumn periods were still ongoing, a highly reputable and powerful martial alliance leader was once chosen. He led a large force of four or five hundred people to confront an old demonic expert in the Finger Profound realm. Killing the demon only cost about a hundred lives, but afterwards, when the masterless treasures appeared, far more people died. The alliance leader himself was hacked into mincemeat by his fellow martial artists. Tragedy followed tragedy; the alliance leader's manor turned to ashes overnight, and nearly a hundred people, including his parents, wife, children, and servants, all perished. After this, no one was willing to become the martial alliance leader, a position everyone previously coveted.

Wang Weixue, the Qi Sword Music House swordsman who was destined to return empty-handed, slapped himself in the face in front of everyone. Then he walked towards the Fish-Dragon Gang, shamelessly saying, "Miss Liu, encountering each other is fate. I'm going to Liuxia City. Could I borrow a horse to accompany you? If there are no spare horses, we can share one."

Liu Nirong was furious.

Xu Fengnian stood up and laughed, "I'll lend you my horse."

Wang Weixue smiled, "You? Are you worthy?"

Xu Fengnian simply smiled, ignoring the swordsman from a famous sect. He said to Liu Nirong, "I'm going to chase that old senior and see if I can find a master."

The Fish-Dragon Gang members exchanged glances. This Xu fellow's audacity and thick skin were no less than that scoundrel Wang Weixue's.

After speaking, Xu Fengnian slowly walked in the direction the old man in gray had fled. Gongsun Yang, sitting in the carriage, sighed as he watched his retreating back. When he saw the handsome young man from Qi Sword Music House hesitate and then mount a horse, sticking close to Liu Nirong, Gongsun Yang's expression remained calm. Xu Fengnian crossed a hill that obscured the view, just about to unleash his inner energy and speed away, when he saw the old man in gray holding a small flying ant between two fingers. The tiny creature appeared in a blink and vanished in a blink; it was clearly a translucent South Barbarian gu worm. Seeing Xu Fengnian, the hawk-nosed old man crushed the small gu worm and sneered, "You dare play with twin-ant gu in front of me, kid? What a joke!"

Another flying ant appeared suspended in front of Xu Fengnian, struggled upon hitting the ground, and then died. He had relied on such gu worms, obtained from Shu Xiu, to track Xiao Qiang earlier. Now, looking at the old man in gray, he cupped his hands and chuckled, "I once heard about the *Qingfu Sword-Fetus Cultivation* secret art from the Wu Family Sword Tomb; it's quite profound. I just wanted to borrow it from the senior for a moment, just enough time for a cup of tea, then I'd return it. If I've been disrespectful, I hope the senior will forgive me."

After crushing the ant-gu, the old man in gray continued to rub his fingers together. Hearing Xu Fengnian's words, he exclaimed in surprise, "You, kid, have photographic memory? How's your lightness skill? If it's good enough, I wouldn't mind taking you as my servant. In the future, we could sneak into restricted areas of the jianghu together. When we find suitable manuals, I'll have you memorize them, saving me a lot of trouble."

Xu Fengnian said with a wry smile, "The senior wanted to take Wang Weixue as a disciple, but with me, it's a servant?"

The old man spoke directly. A nail-sized, eerie green scorpion pierced his skin and emerged from the back of his hand. It raised its small pincers, hissing. He sneered, "That kid's father controls the military and political power of Northern Barbarian's Baoping Prefecture. You, kid, only know a bit of trivial gu arts, far from the true orthodox sorcery. What do you consider yourself?"

Xu Fengnian looked down to see hundreds of scorpions swarming towards him. He said helplessly, "But senior's scorpion gu is also just an unorthodox path, far from the might of the Jade Pipa, one of the Six Great King Gus."

A swarm of scorpions surrounded Xu Fengnian.

The old man in gray, whose secrets had been exposed, wasn't annoyed. He stopped the scorpions from advancing and then let out another "Eh?" This time, he was genuinely surprised. "You, kid, even know about the Jade Pipa, such a great creation immortal item? Juniors who dabble in gu arts generally don't know about the Six Great King Gus. I underestimated you. I thought you were just an ordinary rich young master on a caravan, never expected you to have some knowledge. Tell me, what's your family background? If it's weighty enough to make even me wary, what's the harm in letting you glance at this *Qingfu Sword Manual*?"

Xu Fengnian chuckled, "I'd rather not say. I'm afraid the senior won't believe me if I do."

For once, the old man in gray showed patience. He poked the green scorpion on the back of his hand and said, "Tell me. I'm different from others; the more incredible something is, the more I believe it."

Xu Fengnian said, "There's an old white-haired man named Chu, whose collarbones are locked by two chained double-blades. He taught me how to practice saber."

The old man in gray frowned, "That old scoundrel has been missing for many years. When that fellow named Chu was roaming the jianghu, you were probably still in diapers, right? Don't fool me!"

Xu Fengnian looked relieved and chuckled, "He's back in the jianghu."

The old man's face changed erratically. After a long while, he silently recalled the green scorpion, and the scorpion swarm also dispersed. He pulled out the manual from his embrace, threw it out, and grumbled, "Consider yourself lucky, kid. I have some connection with that old scoundrel Chu, and I owed him a favor back then. When you see him again, tell him we're even."

Xu Fengnian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead while reaching out to catch the manual.

The old man in gray suddenly appeared, laughed loudly, and punched the chest of the young man, still naive to the ways of the jianghu. "You, kid, are going to die of stupidity this time!"

The next moment, the old man in gray suddenly stopped. His eyeballs rotated, and he let out a third "Eh?"

The young man with the saber at his back flew backward, his sleeves billowed out. The old man's punch was like a stone cast into an ancient well, creating visible ripples on his clothes before finally disappearing without a trace.

The young man, who looked like a noble young master, wasted no words and began to read the *Qingfu Sword Manual* with his head bowed.

Unsure if the young man was feigning exhaustion, putting on an act, or genuinely unharmed due to some bizarre method, the old man in gray, who was extremely confident in his cultivation, was momentarily rooted to the spot, neither daring to leave nor attack. The atmosphere became very strange.

Xu Fengnian closed the manual, threw it back to the old man in gray, and chuckled, "What a magnificent *Qingfu Flying Sword Art* from the Sword Tomb! Truly marvelous."

The old jianghu fox, who was afraid of "dying of stupidity," didn't dare to reach out. Only after the manual landed on the ground did he realize the young man had no intention of making a move. Even with his thick skin, the old man in gray felt a bit awkward. He cautiously bent down to pick up the *Qingfu Sword Manual*, constantly looking up. He chuckled, "What formidable internal energy you possess, kid! I've spent my life catching eagles, but this time an eagle pecked out my eye. Now you've only taken one punch, but you've also read this supreme sword manual. In the end, you've gained more. How about we stop here?"

Xu Fengnian calmly said, "Either senior held back his punch and didn't aim to kill, which suggests a true connection with the white-haired old scoundrel. Or senior isn't actually in the second-grade realm at all, and only relies on lightness skill and gu arts to inspire fear."

The old man in gray gave a dry laugh, "I just don't have a good saber at hand. Otherwise, forget second-grade, I could kill even a first-grade master."

Xu Fengnian chuckled, "Thank you, senior, for the loan. I'll take my leave now."

The old man nodded, saying, "Alright."

Xu Fengnian said, "Senior, can you put away the green scorpion again? It keeps crawling in and out of your hand, and you've bled quite a bit."

The old man smiled as he wiped the blood from the back of his hand, and put the gu scorpion back into his body.

Xu Fengnian said, "Senior, please go first. I won't see you off."

The old man smiled kindly, "You go first. I've been running day and night for several days, I'm a bit tired, I'll rest for a while."

"Senior, please go first. It's proper etiquette."

"No problem, no problem, you go first."

"Senior, the gu scorpion has crawled out again."

"Eh? Naughty again. Kid, don't worry about it, it's not that I have any intentions."

"If senior doesn't leave, I won't leave."

"You're being overly sentimental, kid. Since we're all martial artists, all fine fellows of the jianghu, let's not fuss about seniority and etiquette."

The old man and the young man then engaged in an endless exchange of polite pleasantries.

Finally, the old man in gray simply sat on the ground, glaring at the young man who still hadn't drawn his saber, finally looking as if he was about to burst into curses.

Xu Fengnian smiled, bent down, and said, "This junior is truly taking his leave this time."

Staring intently at the tall figure, the old man in gray resisted the urge to launch a sneak attack. He slowly stood up, patted his rear, and muttered, "That Wang Weixue from Qi Sword Music House was troublesome enough, but this kid is even worse. This jianghu is simply impossible to navigate anymore."