Chapter 89

After leaving the cave, the outside temperature suddenly turned cold, the icy mountain wind blew, Huang girl couldn't help but shrink her body, then she seemed to sober up a little, her delicate body began to struggle nonstop, and she muttered in her delirium:

"Little thief, let me down."

Perhaps seeing the little thief ignore her, she started to throw a tantrum, her little head bumping back and forth dissatisfiedly in Niu Dingtian's arms.

Faced with this behavior of the Huang girl, Niu Dingtian felt helpless, could only stop his steps, half-embracing her body as he stood at the side of the mountain path.

Just as her feet touched the ground, the Huang girl hazily wrapped her arms around Niu Dingtian's waist, holding tighter and tighter, murmuring intermittently:

"Don't go, okay?"

"If you go, there'll be no one to keep me company."

"I don't want you to go."

As she spoke, she slowly lifted her head, her pretty face flushed, her drunken eyes hazy as she gazed at Niu Dingtian and giggled:

"Hehehe~"

Suddenly a voice came from behind, it was Huang Lao Xie; unknown when, he had already entered the house.

"Little thief, take me."

Lowering his head to look, the Huang girl had already stuck out her pink tongue, savoring her sticky lips, smacking them, then she actually opened her mouth and foolishly laughed:

Upon seeing the Huang girl in his arms, the mute girl seemed to think of something, quickly waving her hands nonstop at Niu Dingtian.

On the desk were all brush, ink, paper and inkstone, plus a women's storybook 《Grinding Jade Guanyin》; glancing at the bookmark inside, the Huang girl had probably read half of it.

Is she addicted to kissing? If you have the ability, wake up and fight again! Niu Dingtian decisively poked a finger at her; the Huang girl then quietly closed her eyes, tightened her arms, and with a flash of movement, the two flashed down the mountain.

"I still want."

Upon arriving at the Huang girl's courtyard, there was none of the expected chaos; the copper lock on the door remained, entering the room, the mute girl on the bed was still there.

He took out a piece of flowered notepaper, laid it on the table, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and Niu Dingtian began to write.

"You're called Niu Dingtian?"

"Your island master hasn't come over?"

"Hehehe~"

Unable to restrain himself, he drew ever closer to her, yet before touching, the Huang girl below tiptoed and directly leaned up.

"Huh?"

A sudden gust of cold wind struck, Niu Dingtian instantly sobered, he abruptly pulled away, then couldn't help feeling a bit guilty as he glanced left and right.

Huang Lao Xie did not reply; after a silence, his cold, stern face grew somewhat forlorn, and he finally sighed lightly: "I am not your match."

Huang Lao Xie was absent, seemingly in seclusion, which actually saved a lot of trouble.

"Your name, however, has made Island Master Huang laugh."

Yet these words were like a coarse salt, harshly rubbed into Niu Dingtian's wound.

He raised his hand to hold the Huang girl in his arms, preparing to walk down the mountain, but then encountered her dissatisfied struggle:

"Let me. down."

Seeing this, Niu Dingtian couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air, slowly closed his eyes, fiercely inhaled a mouthful of mountain wind, and only then did his emotions slightly calm.

After the mute girl left the room, Niu Dingtian stood there unmoving, merely gazing at that sleeping pretty face, not knowing what he was thinking; after a silence, he then slowly withdrew his gaze and walked to the desk inside the room.

Wine doesn't intoxicate people, people intoxicate themselves; although Niu Dingtian's alcohol hadn't yet gone to his head, the feeling the Huang girl brought at this moment was stronger than a vat of old wine, gradually he also grew a bit intoxicated.

Perhaps seeing Niu Dingtian's puzzlement, Huang Lao Xie did not speak to explain, but turned his body, his gaze falling on the daughter on the bed, began to soften, and then he softly sighed:

"Can't beat, can't beat; I originally thought that on the martial path I would only submit to Wang Chongyang alone, never expecting that one day a youth in his prime would appear. In today's world, if nothing unexpected happens, you ought to be first."

Seeing this, Niu Dingtian was slightly surprised; this didn't resemble Huang Lao Xie's character, and after only a day, he hadn't expected such a change.

After glaring with both eyes and giving the mute girl a low shout, Niu Dingtian gently placed the Huang girl on the bed.

Seemingly not surprised by someone behind him, after putting down his brush, Niu Dingtian turned, smiling at Huang Lao Xie and said: "I originally thought Island Master Huang would directly attack me."

"Is it okay?"

"Wu wu wu"

"Wu wu wu!"

After unsealing the mute girl's acupoints, Niu Dingtian seemed to ask a nonsensical question.

"Together. go out okay?"

The mute girl still wanted to dissuade.

"Cut the nonsense! Hurry up and go!"

"I I still want."

Niu Dingtian glared fiercely again.

The mute girl shrank her head, then immediately ran out of the house.

"Go to the kitchen to brew some sobering soup." Since Huang Lao Xie wasn't there, Niu Dingtian was unfazed and directly gave the order.

The mute girl hurriedly stood up, then kept shaking her head at Niu Dingtian.

Time in the room slipped away quietly between pen and paper; unnoticed, that sheet of flowered notepaper had become densely filled with small script.

Seeing the little thief lower his head and stay silent, the Huang girl actually puffed out her little lips, while wriggling her soft body, she cooed:

Hearing this, Niu Dingtian fell into silence; whether he deserved such a title, only he himself knew; he had originally wanted to say: "Two months ago, there was an old eunuch whom I could not withstand a hundred moves."

But Huang Lao Xie had already turned his body, calmly asking: "Kid, speak up, what brings you to Peach Blossom Island to see me this time?"

Is this being beaten into having no temper?

Seeing this, Niu Dingtian adjusted his emotions, stepped forward, clasped his hands, and spoke solemnly:

"On the eighth day of the eighth month next year, I intend to establish a sect on Mount Jiugong outside Xiangyang City, founding the Divine Sect, and I have come specially to invite Island Master Huang to attend the ceremony."

""Divine Sect?" Huang Lao Xie's eyes suddenly flashed with surprise, and he couldn't help exclaiming in astonishment."

After nodding, Niu Dingtian was about to speak when Huang Lao Xie again opened his mouth and said:

"The sun and moon are bright; are you dissatisfied with the darkness of the world? Or are you dissatisfied with the darkness of the court?"

Sure enough, he wasn't an ordinary figure; despite his plain name, Huang Lao Xie saw an extraordinary implication at a glance.

Upon hearing that, his eyes flickered slightly, and Niu Dingtian suddenly laughed, then, with a smiling tone, he turned to Huang Lao Xie and said:

"Lord Huang, didn't you, since childhood, curse the emperor, proclaim that you'd topple the Great Song, and vow to kill that tyrant and treacherous ministers to avenge Grandfather Yue and Grand Tutor Zu?"

"What? Have you, Lord Huang, become accustomed to the carefree life on Peach Blossom Island and so quickly forgotten your original aspirations?"

Niu Dingtian neither admitted nor denied, but directly brought up Huang Lao Xie's past, some viewpoints, saying that both sides are equally matched.

At first hearing this, Huang Lao Xie was suddenly stunned, as if plunged into some memory, but after hearing the following words, he couldn't help letting out a cold snort.

Niu Dingtian was unfazed, glanced back, saw the ink on the paper had dried, slowly folded his hand to cover the words, then walked to Huang Lao Xie's side, pacing leisurely as he spoke:

"When has a beggar ever had two wives? How can a neighbor have many chickens? Back then there was still the Zhou Emperor; why speak so wildly of Wei and Qi?"

"I, Niu Dingtian, originally studied the teachings of Confucius and Mencius; Master Kong taught me loyalty and righteousness. As a child I also wanted to be a steadfast loyal subject and patriot, but later I realized that Master Kong doesn't seem to embody loyalty and righteousness!"

Huang Lao Xie, upon hearing this, finally couldn't help but size up Niu Dingtian; such heretical words resonated with his own thoughts, yet he hadn't expected them to come from such a young lad.

In response to Huang Lao Xie's gaze, Niu Dingtian didn't shy away but boldly faced him, grinning as he asked, "Lord Huang, what do you think I should do?"

Huang Lao Xie remained silent, for he had long experienced and seen through this, yet even now, beyond heretical rebellion, he didn't know what to do.

Seeing Huang Lao Xie not answer, Niu Dingtian continued, "Since Master Kong has no right to teach me loyalty and righteousness, why should I learn from him?"

"It was then that I met that crazy sister, Qu San's daughter, your disciple's descendant, Lord Huang. By chance I discovered three secret manuals in her family's hidden chamber, and abandoned literary study for martial training, adopting a new way of life."

"In this regard, I indeed owe you, Huang Lao Xie; henceforth I, Niu Dingtian, will repay you."

Regardless, the martial arts Huang Lao Xie passed on truly opened his path to martial enlightenment; in the end, he still owes him something.

After talking for a while, Niu Dingtian felt his throat dry, saw the teapot on the round table, and without politeness spread two tea bowls, poured the teapot full, moved one bowl to Huang Lao Xie's side, and drank half of his own bowl directly.

For some reason, Huang Lao Xie didn't refuse; he lifted his bowl, took a sip, set it down, and seemed a bit spaced out.

"When did Ling Feng die?" After a pause, Huang Lao Xie suddenly asked.

"Qu San?" Niu Dingtian was startled, paused, then softly said:

"When I discovered it ten years ago, it was already a skeleton; the leg bone was broken, there was an iron bagua on the body, and a dagger engraved with the character 'Qu', and the remains were buried beside his family's tavern."

"The other person was the Imperial‑bestowed Martial Arts Doctor and Zhongzhou Defense Commissioner Shi Yanming, whose waist badge is still with me."

"People from the palace?"

Although the question was pointless, the tone in Huang Lao Xie's mouth had already grown colder.

Seeing Huang Lao Xie's demeanor, Niu Dingtian's eyes flashed, then he reminded, "Lord Huang, you'd better be careful inside the palace."

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, Huang Lao Xie couldn't help but feel surprised, glancing at Niu Dingtian—a reaction unlike his usual temperament.

Facing that gaze, Niu Dingtian, rarely embarrassed, lifted his tea bowl to conceal himself, but finally let out a sigh and said:

"Two months ago, I once broke into the imperial palace and suffered a hidden loss at the hands of an elderly eunuch; after a hundred moves I was defeated. Had I not used certain means, my life would have been in danger. Lord Huang, you'd better be careful in the future."

The warning has been given; facing that eunuch with Five Peerless skill left no chance of victory. There are surely many unnamed masters in the world.

Huang Lao Xie turned pale upon hearing this; the youngster's defeat after a hundred moves suggests he surpasses him by more than a notch. He had thought the only anonymous masters were the one from Shaolin Temple and the one from the south, but now it seems he has underestimated the world's talents.

"Lord Huang, do you know which hidden masters still exist in the world?"

Having roamed the jianghu for decades, Huang Lao Xie had met countless people; neither of them were of good temper, so a calm conversation was rare, prompting Niu Dingtian to ask.

Huang Lao Xie, hearing this, regained some composure, thought a moment, then spoke in a deep voice:

"I, an old man of Shaolin Temple, have indeed met one; back then we sparred a few moves. As for who was weaker or stronger, we only brushed the matter lightly."

Hearing this, Niu Dingtian couldn't help recalling the Shaolin Temple's scripture guardian, almost certainly that old monk, and laughed, "In my view, Lord Huang, you surpass that person by a notch."

When I fought that scripture guardian that day, the old monk fell after a hundred moves, far less enjoyable than sparring with you, Lord Huang; I know exactly whose martial skill is higher.

"Oh? You've seen him?"

Huang Lao Xie couldn't help asking.

"I've seen him; a month ago I broke into Shaolin Temple's Sutra Repository and naturally clashed with him."

Without hesitation, Niu Dingtian stated plainly; this matter would leak out sooner or later, and now there's no need for concealment.

Huang Lao Xie, after hearing that, didn't know how to respond for a moment; indeed, Niu Dingtian's character is such that if people like him appear in the jianghu, trouble is inevitable.

Seeing Niu Dingtian still seemed to have questions, Huang Lao Xie thought for a while and continued:

"There is another I haven't met, but years ago I heard Duan Xiong of Dali mention him; his skill should be at least Five Peerless, and he has appeared in Dali's territory more than once."

"As for others, from what I know, they are merely some well‑known figures in the martial world."

"Are there more masters in Dali?"

Niu Dingtian was momentarily stunned; regaining his senses, he saw Huang Lao Xie looking at his daughter, seemingly unwilling to continue, so he asked no more, then bowed and said, "Lord Huang, how do you consider the matter of the eighth day of the eighth month next year?"

Huang Lao Xie seemed to be pondering, remaining silent; he had once sworn never to leave Peach Blossom Island, so he wouldn't break that oath lightly.

Knowing Huang Lao Xie's thoughts, Niu Dingtian immediately asked, "Lord Huang, do you still think that a single Nine Yin Classic represents the pinnacle of martial arts?"

"Next year, on the eighth day of the ninth month of August, Nine Palace Mountain will gather the Western Poison, Southern Emperor, and Shaolin Temple masters; I will also seek out and invite many hidden jianghu figures, and inevitably we will discuss the Dao through martial arts."

Seeing Huang Lao Xie's hesitant expression, still undecided, Niu Dingtian felt a spark and suddenly said:

"At that time I plan to establish the Martial World Heaven List and Earth List, where jianghu folk rank themselves by martial prowess; everyone will inevitably vie for positions, perhaps even claim the title of number one in the world. Such an opportunity comes once in a hundred years; I ask you, Lord Huang, to consider it carefully!"

Having finished, Niu Dingtian said no more; given the typical nature of jianghu folk, no one would miss such a spectacle.

If it truly doesn't work, I'll just throw out half of the Nine Yin Classic; as long as it can bring the reputation of the Sun Moon Divine Sect, a small price is acceptable.

(End of chapter)