Chapter 19#

The escort master trembled for a while before shouting sternly: “What evil villains… Brothers, fight them to the death!”

The man and woman stood still in their original places, each smiling. The young man holding the white banner lowered his head, the pupils in his pitch-black eyes trembling slightly. With a loud bang, the coffin beside him split open from the middle, and a girl in white leaped out, her soft embroidered white silk shoes still spotless amidst the hardships of the journey. The escort masters all looked delighted and shouted one after another: “Miss Yi.”

Yi Xinchou tapped her feet, and the heavy coffin lid flew high into the air. When it fell, it inserted vertically deep into the ground. She leaped lightly and stood on the pitch-black coffin lid, saying coldly: “Evil thieves of Futu Fortress, see one, kill one; see a pair, kill a pair.”

Su Meiniang laughed charmingly: “Still wet behind the ears, why not come to sister’s building, this slave will have someone teach you properly…”

Wu Qiuping chuckled low and said: “Meiniang, why don’t you hand her over to me directly for teaching? Today’s Mid-Autumn birthday gift will be settled.”

When had the escort masters ever heard such arrogant and rude words? Each one gnashed their teeth. Yi Xinchou’s face was livid. With a movement of her hands, silk ribbons flew out like arrows, shooting towards Wu Qiuping like whips. Wu Qiuping took out the whisk from his waist and blocked casually. The two softest weapons immediately entangled tightly together. Yi Xinchou gritted her silver teeth and pulled back the silk ribbons with both hands. Wu Qiuping threw his head back and laughed, his feet not moving an inch.

Almost simultaneously, Su Meiniang leaped into action, rushing into the crowd like lightning. She used a pair of bare palms, and wherever she went, only the terrible crisp sound of necks being broken was heard. In just the blink of an eye, the path she rushed through was littered with enough corpses to fill all the coffins. Yi Xinchou’s face turned pale. Her left hand rose at the same time, and the other half of the white gauze spread out gently, wrapping towards Su Meiniang’s waist.

The young man was still holding the white banner, his eyes closed tightly, his lips pursed. One person against two, he could foresee the ending, it was just a matter of time. The surviving escort masters rushed forward desperately to help. Only Wu Qiuping’s loud laughter and a long whistle were heard. In an instant, dozens of Futu Fortress disciples dressed in silk suddenly surged out from the side. Dressed beautifully, they threw themselves into the battle circle with bloody killing intent.

The young man pressed his hand against his chest, where a piece of jade was hidden against his flesh. The jade was slightly cool. He closed his eyes, reached out, and thrust the white banner fiercely into the ground, penetrating about ten feet deep. His long hair fell on his mud-stained cheeks. The young man circulated his internal energy, leaped onto the white banner, and leaped again. While everyone had no time to look back, he tapped Yi Xinchou’s sleeping acupoint with one hand, pulled her into his arms, and pulled the white gauze ribbon with the other hand, flinging it with all his might. The gauze ribbon bulged with internal energy, hard as an iron rod, forcing both Wu and Su back a step at the same time.

Wu Qiuping’s face changed color, and he shouted sternly: “May I ask for your esteemed name, why do you block our way to wealth!”

The young man stood on the tall upright coffin lid, his lips opening and closing several times before he vaguely remembered the language he hadn’t used for a long time. In these three years, he had grown older and taller, and his voice was no longer indistinguishable between male and female as in his childhood. Coupled with his rusty language, when he spoke, no one knew it was him—he said hoarsely: “People, don’t move. Money, you take away.”

Su Meiniang laughed charmingly: “Little brother, this won’t do. If we don’t silence them, it will cause trouble for the fortress in the future.”

The young man frowned and panted violently to suppress the thought of turning around and leaving. Years of living incognito made him extremely disgusted and fearful of being exposed to others. He gritted his teeth and repeated in a low voice: “Money, you take away. This woman, cannot be killed.”

Su Meiniang seemed a bit impatient, but still smiled: “You mean Qiuyi of Huanzhen Villa? This slave never does business that lets the tiger return to the mountain.” The young man wanted to argue again, but heard the wind rise steeply. The man and woman attacked him simultaneously, one from the front and one from the back. They used their lifelong unique skills, killing moves linked closely, moves within moves, honed countless times in countless battles. The two coordinated seamlessly, covering the young man’s vital acupoints in the blink of an eye.

The young man’s face was livid. He suddenly shouted sternly: “I said, she cannot be killed!” With this violent shout, the wooden board under the young man’s feet cracked open with internal energy. Seeing the escort masters almost completely wiped out by the disciples of Futu Fortress, he hesitated no more. His figure shot upwards, reaching out to break a withered branch from the old tree above his head, watching Su and Wu below using lightness skills to rush towards him. The young man’s face changed repeatedly, the branch trembled lightly, and a set of Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix sword technique was displayed.

Wu Qiuping was slightly surprised: “You… are you from Qingyi Temple?”

The young man’s face was stiff, his moves changed suddenly, forcing the two back repeatedly, unexpectedly switching to a set of Shuyu Sword Technique.

Su Meiniang said charmingly: “Eh, that’s not right, this slave thinks he is from Empty Valley Study.”

The young man’s wrist trembled lightly, his moves changed again, successively using Xiaoyao Sword Technique, Cihang Sword Technique, Feitian Sword Technique, Wuying Sword Technique. Even though his clothes were ragged, the magnificence and unrestrained nature of his sword moves were just like in the past. Su and Wu countered every move, being forced back repeatedly by him. At first, they were uncertain and surprised, but gradually smiles appeared on their faces. Wu Qiuping laughed: “Truly a talent who has read widely… unfortunately, only flashiness remains.”

Su Meiniang blocked a palm horizontally and also laughed: “The sword style is stiff like someone who hasn’t practiced martial arts for a few years. In the way of the sword, not practicing for a day means retreating a thousand miles. In this slave’s opinion, this little brother doesn’t even have an empty frame.”

During the continuous fight with the two, the young man was indeed gradually in danger. He lost due to neglect, lost due to not being able to use Futu Fortress martial arts, and lost even more due to a lack of intention to fight. Seeing the cold sweat densely covering the young man’s forehead, Wu Qiuping said softly: “Why does this little brother still struggle to conceal the origin of his martial arts? You seem to haven’t used martial arts for a long time, and you use all the kung fu you are not good at. If you don’t treat it seriously, you will—” Speaking of this, the brilliance in his and Su Meiniang’s eyes surged simultaneously, both using a move ‘Ten Steps One Person’, attacking the young man’s vital points front and back like claiming his life.

This move was unavoidable. The young man took a deep breath and used a ‘Thousand Pound Drop’ to rush downwards. The face of the woman in his arms was still scratched with a faint blood mark. The young man felt a pain in his heart, retreated ten steps back, saw the corpses of escort masters who had been slaughtered all around, and asked with a trembling voice: “You, why do you bully people too much—exactly, exactly how will you be willing to stop?”

Wu Qiuping laughed: “That’s easy to say. As long as one person from Futu Fortress standing here is willing to stop, we will stop.” As soon as his voice fell, the surrounding Futu Fortress disciples burst into laughter, appearing extremely proud.

The young man looked miserable, watching the wound of the woman in his arms bleeding incessantly, and suddenly sneered: “You mean, as long as one person from Futu Fortress is willing to stop? Good—”

Saying this, he took out a scepter made of purple jade from his bosom, held it high, his face livid, and said loudly: “I, Futu Fortress disciple Hua Jinian, am willing to stop!”

This sentence was shouted with internal energy mixed in. The originally secluded hill was so quiet that even the sound of birds flapping their wings was clearly discernible. Su Meiniang stared at that scepter for a long time before saying tremblingly: “It’s the Futu Token, it really is the Futu Token.”

Wu Qiuping looked at him with complex eyes, was silent for a while, and then said word by word: “To you looking like this, I don’t want to salute.” The dozens of Futu Fortress disciples behind him looked at each other in uncertainty and surprise. Being in the outer fortress, they were dressed beautifully and had outstanding appearances. Even if they had heard of this little young master wandering outside, they could absolutely not imagine that the heir of the fragrant and shadowy Futu Fortress would be such a disheveled person with ordinary features.

Su Meiniang sighed for a while and said softly: “No matter what… you seem to have suffered. Really shouldn’t have let you leave the fortress. Alright, Jinian, quickly go back with Sister Su, take a good bath, and don’t look like this anymore—”

Hua Jinian took a step back, avoiding the hand Su Meiniang reached out to him. He lowered his head, hugging the girl in his arms tightly. “No need,” he said in a low voice. The estrangement of three years was enough to wear down the not-so-strong bond between them. Moreover, the murderous aura of the three people drawing swords against each other not long ago still lingered in the air. The young man witnessed with his own eyes all the bloody and ruthless nature of the people in Futu Fortress. The naked slaughter washed away the friendship that was originally like teacher and friend, leaving only a thin layer of hypocritical and empty skin on the surface.

He took another step back and repeated in a low voice: “I won’t go back. I said, people, stay; money, you take away.”

Wu Qiuping looked at him with slight dissatisfaction. If Hua Jinian were a few years older, he could have recognized the worry and protection in the man’s eyes more deeply, but the young man didn’t look closely… so he took another step back, causing Wu Qiuping to shout angrily: “If you don’t return, this poor Taoist will tie you up and—”

Hua Jinian sneered and panted for a while, his feet retreating backward, but tripped over the corpse of an escort master. He suddenly lowered his head and picked up the iron sword in the corpse’s hand, assumed a welcoming stance in the air, and shouted in a low voice: “Just now I didn’t use Futu Fortress’s kung fu. If you insist on me going back, I will compete with you again. The outcome is not yet decided.”

Wu Qiuping said angrily: “You!” He looked at the young man in front of him who had grown to be about the same height as him, and cursed in a low voice: “You, what medicine have you taken wrong in these three years!” Su Meiniang watched silently from the side for a while, then suddenly laughed charmingly: “Stinky Taoist, have you forgotten that the Little Young Master has always been amenable to coaxing but not coercion?” Saying this, she raised her red sleeve, and the dozens of Futu Fortress disciples behind her unexpectedly knelt on the ground in unison, shouting with their heads touching the ground: “Respectfully invite the Young Master to return to the fortress! Respectfully invite the Young Master to return to the fortress!”

Hua Jinian looked embarrassed and roared in a low voice: “Sister Su…” Su Meiniang and Wu Qiuping looked at each other, sneered, and knelt down at the same time. Left hand supporting the ground, right hand covering the left hand, slowly bending their heads down to rest on the right hand, prostrating themselves, performing a grand ceremony only used when Futu Fortress worshipped gods, and shouted in unison: “Respectfully invite the Young Master to return to the fortress!”

Hua Jinian’s face was pale. He laughed low: “You force me, you all force me.” Speaking of this, he suddenly put Yi Xinchou on the ground, bent his knees, and knelt on the ground with a snap, splashing dust. Bang bang bang, he kowtowed three times to the crowd kneeling towards him. Hua Jinian smiled and said: “You can kneel, can’t I kneel? I won’t go back, absolutely not.”

Wu Qiuping’s face was livid, murmuring: “Changed, really changed. Where does he still have the appearance of a Futu Fortress Little Young Master! I don’t recognize him. Meiniang, from today on, I will consider Hua Jinian dead!”

Hua Jinian laughed loudly and climbed up from the ground, helped the woman up again, held her horizontally in his arms, looked up to the sky and laughed loudly: “Hua Jinian was dead to begin with. I am now surnamed Fang, a servant doing odd jobs—if the lords visit our escort agency one day, this lowly one will definitely serve tea and water to the masters.”

Su Meiniang’s face was also grim, squeezing a sentence out from between her rouge-covered red lips: “Why are you willing to degenerate to this extent?”

Hua Jinian paused, suddenly fell silent. The surroundings were deathly quiet. One could smell the bloody scent of corpses all over the ground under the sun, and hear the rustling sound of the long wind blowing through sparse branches and leaves. The wind passed, and from behind came the muffled sound of clothes being blown by the wind, desolate and lonely. Hua Jinian repeated again: “You ask why?” He murmured almost inaudibly: “Jinian is not a fool. Can’t I even distinguish who treats me well and who treats me badly?”

He tilted his head slightly, looked at Wu and Su with a smile on the corner of his mouth, and chuckled lightly: “I know I am down and out at this time, but even if I am down and out like this, I feel much happier than the days in Futu Fortress.” He seemed to want to say something more, but ultimately didn’t open his mouth, just waved his hand vigorously and walked away quickly.

Wu Qiuping stared at his back and sneered: “I can’t control him anymore. He has long ceased to put people like us in his eyes.” Su Meiniang pulled her silk handkerchief with her shell-like teeth and suddenly laughed foolishly: “Stinky Taoist, have you forgotten that even if we can’t control him, there are naturally people in this world who can control him.”

As she spoke, she opened her hands, and a Futu Fortress disciple knelt and moved forward, one holding a white pigeon, one presenting a vermilion box with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Su Meiniang held a purple bamboo rabbit-hair brush, wrote a line of small seal script neatly, sealed it into the bamboo tube on the pigeon’s claw, and released it, bringing the lingering sound of the pigeon flapping its wings.

“You are still thoughtful,” Wu Qiuping sighed, “I really hate iron for not becoming steel. He was clearly such a sensible child when he was young, changed just like that.” As he spoke, he slowly drew his sword. Su Meiniang smiled charmingly: “Idiot, to shift the blame, naturally we have to make it look real.” Saying this, she winked again, and disciples brought up weapons commonly used by major sects in the Jianghu. She and Wu Qiuping looked at each other and smiled, using these weapons to display various moves of famous and upright sects, marking various wounds on the corpses of escort masters lying all over the ground, before ordering the disciples to carry the coffins.

Wu Qiuping chanted ‘Infinite Life Buddha’ and chuckled low: “Promoted and getting rich (pun on ’lifting coffin’).” Immediately, as if remembering something, he instructed the surrounding disciples: “Children, listen well. This time, the twelve major sects saw wealth and got greedy, robbed the escort of Huanzhen Villa, and killed the Golden Saber Ruan couple—you must spread such a big scandal well in the Jianghu.”