Chapter 5: A Donkey More Arrogant Than the Heir

The mountain road was muddy and difficult to traverse after the rain.

Xu Fengnian walked with growing irritation.

What irritated him even more was that Su Ke's donkey walked with even more annoyance than he did.

That gray-furred donkey swayed leisurely ahead, its four hooves trampling the mud, yet somehow projecting an air of recognizing no kin or acquaintance.

Sometimes it took two steps then stopped.

Sometimes it stopped to nibble grass leaves by the roadside.

Sometimes it simply lay across the middle of the road, refusing to budge no matter what.

Xu Fengnian finally lost his patience.

"Surname Su, is your donkey sick?"

Su Ke walked beside him, hands clasped behind his head, and said lazily:

"Call him A Liang."

Xu Fengnian gritted his teeth.

"Fine, A Liang, is your donkey sick?"

Su Ke glanced at the furry donkey.

The furry donkey glanced back at Su Ke.

Man and donkey stared at each other for a moment.

Su Ke said seriously:

"He isn't sick."

Xu Fengnian breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Ke added a sentence:

"He just has a terrible temper, plain and simple."

Xu Fengnian nearly kicked him.

Lao Huang, carrying the sword case on his back, followed behind, grinning so widely his mouth wouldn't close.

Ever since Su Ke joined, this journey had become significantly livelier.

Of course, Xu Fengnian's expression had also become significantly worse.

Su Ke suddenly turned his head to look at Xu Fengnian.

"Little Nian."

A vein on Xu Fengnian's temple jumped.

"Call me Little Nian again, and I'll turn on you."

Su Ke nodded.

"Alright, Little Nian."

Xu Fengnian almost drew his sword.

Su Ke, however, seemed not to notice his fury and continued asking:

"You are the Beiliang Heir, how did you end up in such a wretched state?"

Xu Fengnian sneered.

"Do you think I wanted this?"

Su Ke sized him up.

His clothes were tattered, his hair tied up casually, and his face bore the dust and exhaustion of travel.

Without knowing his identity, it would indeed be hard to connect him with the Heir of the Beiliang Prince's Manor.

Su Ke clicked his tongue.

"With this appearance of yours, if you went to the entrance of the Beiliang Prince's Manor to claim kinship, the gatekeeper would probably kick you out."

Xu Fengnian said expressionlessly:

"Thanks for the reminder. The first thing I do when I return is replace the gatekeeper."

Lao Huang chuckled:

"Young Master, the gatekeeper of the Prince's Manor hasn't offended you."

Xu Fengnian glared.

"Who exactly are you on side with?"

Lao Huang said:

"Naturally, I'm on the Young Master's side."

Su Ke nodded.

"Lao Huang is on your side, but his conscience is on my side."

Xu Fengnian took a deep breath.

He felt he would sooner or later be killed by this man's anger.

After walking a stretch, Xu Fengnian suddenly fixed his gaze on that furry donkey.

After years of sleeping under the sky and eating in the wind, his legs and feet had almost ceased to feel like his own.

Normally, lacking the means, one would have to put up with it.

But now, with a donkey right here, why shouldn't he ride it?

Xu Fengnian walked over to the furry donkey and reached out to touch its back.

The furry donkey stopped and looked at him sideways.

That look was far from friendly.

Xu Fengnian sneered coldly.

"A mere beast dares to glare at this Crown Prince?"

Su Ke kindly reminded him from the side:

"I advise you not to provoke it."

Xu Fengnian said disdainfully:

"Do I, Xu Fengnian, fear a donkey?"

Having spoken, he pressed both hands onto the donkey's back and flipped over, about to mount it.

The next moment.

The hairy donkey suddenly kicked up its hind legs.

Boom!

Xu Fengnian flew through the air as a whole, landing with perfect precision into a mud pit by the roadside.

Mud and water splashed everywhere.

Lao Huang opened his mouth.

Su Ke sucked in a sharp breath.

"What a kick!"

The hairy donkey swished its tail, looking utterly smug.

Xu Fengnian lay in the mud pit, his entire body frozen stiff.

He slowly raised his head, his face covered in mud and water.

"Su! A! Liang!"

Su Ke squatted by the roadside and comforted him:

"Don't be angry; it doesn't usually kick people."

Xu Fengnian roared:

"Then what did it just kick?"

Su Ke said earnestly:

"The Crown Prince."

Lao Huang finally couldn't hold it back; leaning on his sword case, he burst into laughter.

Xu Fengnian climbed out of the mud pit, trembling with rage.

"I will kill this donkey!"

The hairy donkey immediately hid behind Su Ke.

Su Ke reached out to shield it.

"Calm down; it is still a child."

Xu Fengnian pointed at the hairy donkey, his voice changed.

"A child? It is more arrogant than my grandfather!"

Su Ke patted the hairy donkey's head and said gratefully:

"Did you hear that? It's praising you."

The hairy donkey let out a loud snort.

Xu Fengnian felt he should not have returned to Beiliang.

He should have gone to find a doctor to check his heart first.

If he kept walking like this, he would sooner or later be driven to death by this one person and one donkey.

Lao Huang stepped forward and handed Xu Fengnian a cloth.

"Young Master, wipe yourself."

Xu Fengnian took the cloth and wiped his face fiercely.

"Lao Huang, speak the truth; has this donkey become a spirit?"

Lao Huang glanced at the hairy donkey.

"It is indeed smarter than an average donkey."

Su Ke corrected him:

"Not smart; it has a Sword Heart."

Xu Fengnian looked utterly shocked.

"You can even blow a Sword Heart into a donkey?"

Su Ke said matter-of-factly:

"All things can possess a Sword Heart."

Xu Fengnian pointed at the hairy donkey.

"It has no damn Sword Heart!"

The hairy donkey suddenly raised its head to look at him.

Xu Fengnian immediately stepped back half a pace.

Su Ke said with a smile:

"You are afraid."

Xu Fengnian said coldly:

"I simply do not deign to argue with a beast."

The hairy donkey let out another loud snort.

Xu Fengnian fell silent.

The group continued on their journey.

At noon, the three rested beneath a hillside.

Lao Huang built a fire, Xu Fengnian hung out clothes to dry, and Su Ke leaned against a tree drinking water.

To be precise, they had rummaged through their bundles, found no wine, and could only drink water.

Su Ke was deeply sorrowful.

"A Jianghu without wine is a Jianghu without a Soul."

Xu Fengnian sat on a stone, wringing muddy water from his clothes while sneering.

"A Jianghu with a donkey like you, however, does have some flavor."

Su Ke glanced at him.

"What, still holding a grudge?"

Xu Fengnian chuckled.

"Try getting kicked into a mud pit yourself?"

Su Ke said seriously.

"It has kicked me before."

Xu Fengnian was momentarily stunned.

Su Ke sighed.

"When we first met, it kicked me even harder than it did you."

Xu Fengnian suddenly felt a bit more balanced in his heart.

"Then why didn't you kill it?"

Su Ke stroked the donkey's head.

This time, the donkey did not dodge.

He smiled and said.

"When traveling the Jianghu, one must have a companion."

Xu Fengnian was taken aback.

Lao Huang also looked up and glanced at Su Ke.

Su Ke's tone was light and airy, as if speaking of some trivial, unimportant matter.

But for some reason, Xu Fengnian suddenly heard a different flavor in those words.

One person, one donkey, one Wooden Sword.

It sounds carefree.

Yet if one truly walks the Jianghu alone for long, perhaps loneliness will set in.

Xu Fengnian was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked.

"Where did you come from before?"

Su Ke looked up toward the distance.

From where?

He certainly could not say he came from a rental room in the Twenty-First Century.

Even less could he say he knew the fates of many people in this world.

So he smiled.

"From a very far place."

Xu Fengnian asked.

"How far?"

Su Ke pointed at Heaven.

"Farther than Heaven."

Xu Fengnian rolled his eyes.

"Starting to talk nonsense again."

Su Ke smiled.

"I once stayed in a place where Sword Qi was very high."

Lao Huang's hand movements paused slightly.

Su Ke continued.

"How high was it?"

"Some Scholars, looking weak and frail, would drink a couple of sips of wine, curse Heaven a few times, and then dare to raise their swords to cut down things higher than Heaven."

Xu Fengnian scoffed.

"Scholars raising swords to cut Heaven? Are you telling a story?"

Su Ke shook his head.

"I am speaking the truth."

Xu Fengnian clearly did not believe him.

But Lao Huang did not laugh.

He looked quietly at Su Ke.

Because when Su Ke spoke those words, his eyes were very calm.

Calm in a way that did not sound like boasting.

It was more like recalling something that had truly happened.

This made Lao Huang's heart grow even more alarmed and suspicious.

The Sword Intent on Su Ke did not resemble any lineage from the martial world of Snowy Sword.

Could that "very far place" he spoke of truly not be an ordinary location?

Xu Fengnian paid no attention to Lao Huang's expression, merely continuing to ask:

"Then why did you come here?"

Su Ke thought for a moment.

"Perhaps because I feel this martial world holds some regrets."

Xu Fengnian was taken aback.

"What regrets?"

Su Ke looked at him, then looked at Lao Huang.

He smiled.

"I cannot say for now."

Xu Fengnian frowned.

"Making things sound mysterious."

Su Ke lazily leaned back against the tree.

"Don't all masters of the martial world act this way?"

Xu Fengnian said disdainfully:

"What kind of master are you?"

Su Ke patted his Wooden Sword.

"Number one under Heaven."

Xu Fengnian: "..."

Lao Huang smiled but said nothing.

Just as the few were chatting, the sound of hoofbeats suddenly came from far down the mountain path.

This time, it was not the suppressed, hurried hoofbeats of assassins.

Rather, it was chaotic, unrestrained, and arrogant hoofbeats.

Soon, over ten burly men on horseback charged out from the end of the mountain path.

Their clothing was disordered, long sabers hung at their waists, and their faces bore a fierce aura.

Leading them was a man with a face full of horizontal flesh, holding a large chopping blade in his hand.

Upon seeing Su Ke and the other two, his eyes lit up.

"Yo, quite lucky."

"In this desolate wild mountain, we can still bump into three fat sheep."

Xu Fengnian's expression turned strange.

Fat sheep?

This group's eyesight wasn't very good.

Lao Huang lowered his head to tend the fire, as if he hadn't seen them.

Su Ke, meanwhile, sat beneath the tree, wearing an expression of regret.

"Why have people come again?"

Xu Fengnian laughed:

"It's the martial world; isn't it always like this?"

The leading bandit rode his horse forward, looking down at the three from above.

"Hand over the silver."

Having said this, his gaze fell upon the donkey beside Su Ke.

"And leave this donkey behind as well."

Su Ke, originally lazy, slowly lifted his head.

Seeing this expression on him, Xu Fengnian immediately burst into laughter.

He knew someone was about to suffer misfortune.

Seeing Su Ke remain silent, the bandit leader sneered:

"What, can't bear to part with it?"

He lifted his blade, pointing it at the donkey.

"That I, your grandfather, have taken a fancy to your donkey is your good fortune."

Su Ke stood up and brushed the grass clippings from his clothes.

A smile still remained on his face.

But his eyes had clearly grown several degrees more serious.

"Robbing money can be negotiated."

"Robbing a donkey is not allowed."

The bandit leader stared blankly for a moment.

Then he burst into loud laughter.

The bandits behind him also joined in with raucous laughter.

"Did you hear that? This kid is protecting his donkey!"

"I bet he treats this donkey like his own father!"

"Boss, why don't we rob them and take both the man and the donkey?"

Hearing these words, Su Ke suddenly sighed.

He patted the donkey's head.

"Brother, they're insulting you."

The donkey lifted its head, staring at the band of horse bandits.

The leading bandit grew impatient.

"Cut the crap!"

"I'll slaughter this beast right now!"

He spurred his horse forward, slashing his blade down at the donkey.

Xu Fengnian didn't even blink.

Lao Huang watched with a grin.

Just as the blade was about to strike, Su Ke moved.

He did not draw his sword.

He merely lifted the Wooden Sword at his waist and tapped lightly, sheath and all.

The motion was as casual as tapping a bowl.

Thump.

A dull sound rang out.

The bandit chief flew sideways, man and horse together.

Bang!

He snapped an old tree by the roadside, rolled several zhang across the ground, and finally collapsed in the muddy water, foaming at the mouth, utterly still.

Silence fell over the scene.

The laughter of those bandits, who had been roaring with mirth moments before, was cut off as if by a single slash.

Su Ke lowered the Wooden Sword and turned to look at them.

"Who else wants my donkey?"

The bandits' faces turned deathly pale.

One man's hand trembled, and his blade clattered to the ground.

Sitting on a rock, Xu Fengnian said with a smile:

"Weren't you all so good at laughing? Go on, then."

Plop.

One bandit dropped straight to his knees.

Immediately after, a second, then a third.

In the blink of an eye, over a dozen bandits were kneeling everywhere.

"Hero, spare our lives!"

"Great hero, spare our lives!"

"We failed to recognize Mount Tai!"

"We never dare do it again!"

Su Ke stroked his chin.

"Spare your lives, huh..."

The bandits kowtowed repeatedly.

Su Ke thought for a moment, then said:

"That might be possible."

The bandits' eyes lit up.

"Thank you, great hero!"

Su Ke raised a hand and pointed.

"Sing a little tune."

The bandits froze, bewildered.

"Huh?"

Su Ke said:

"If you sing well, I'll spare your lives."

Xu Fengnian nearly spat out his mouthful of water.

Lao Huang laughed so hard he started coughing.

The bandits looked at each other in confusion.

Su Ke gripped the Wooden Sword.

The bandits immediately stretched their necks and began to sing.

On the mountain path, the mist after the rain had not yet dispersed.

Over a dozen burly, strapping bandits knelt in the mud, pulling long faces as they sang a tuneless little song.

Xu Fengnian laughed until he doubled over.

Lao Huang was equally amused.

Even that donkey seemed to lift its head higher.

Su Ke nodded in satisfaction.

【Detected: Host behavior aligns with the Ah Liang Template.】

【Fusion Rate increased to 13%.】

The corners of Su Ke's mouth curved upward.

Not bad.

This martial world is becoming more and more interesting.