Chapter 29: 28 Jianghu Legends

28 Jianghu Legends

Once outside the door, Tang Zhao realized just how large Black Spider Villa was; corridor after corridor, courtyard after courtyard, winding on and on, endless to behold. Yet the colors remained monotonous: black walls and black tiles, a blackness without end.

After walking for the better part of an hour, the view suddenly opened up. In the backyard was a vast, open sandy field, furnished with stone drums, stone locks, sandbags, archery targets, and other martial arts training equipment. Over a dozen people were practicing in the field. These people were male and female, old and young; some already had full beards, while others were not even as tall as Tang Zhao. Most of these people were not wearing the villa's signature black clothing, but instead wore grey short-sleeved tunics.

As Tang Zhao and his group passed through the training ground, the crowd kept their heads down, focused on their training, and paid them no mind.

This was Tang Zhao's first time watching people practice martial arts up close, and he could not help but feel curious.

In the field, some were boxing, some were standing in stances, and others were lifting stone locks to train their strength. There were also people practicing hidden weapons at the target range. The stance-standing was nothing to look at—Tang Zhao's Body Refining Chapter could also be considered a form of stance training, though the postures were more awkward—but the boxing was different; limbs moved with shadows, whistling with force, and a surge of power rushed toward his face.

Suddenly, Tang Zhao felt a gust of wind by his ear. Before he could react, a fair, slender hand reached out and pinched something right beside his ear.

Tang Zhao came to his senses and saw the little maid pinching a small, pitch-black arrow, barely a few feet from his ear. Had the maid not intercepted it, that arrow would surely have pierced his cheek.

Having encountered danger for no reason, Tang Zhao broke out in a cold sweat and said, "Thank you, Sister, for saving my life."

The maid smiled slightly and said, "YoungMaster, you are too kind." After saying this, her face darkened, and she stood there with her arms crossed, refusing to move further.

Wei Zhangle was stunned for a moment, then realized what had happened. He leaned into Tang Zhao's ear and said, "Let's not stare too closely at other people's martial arts; it's a taboo."

Tang Zhao had never heard of this rule. He nodded quickly, only then realizing that the cold arrow just now was no accident—it was a warning from someone else, and a lethal one at that!

While Tang Zhao was regretting his lack of caution, a grey-clad Disciple ran over from afar and said with a smile, "So it was Sister Xiao Pei who came here. My hand slipped just now and I startled you, Sister. Damn it, damn it."

Xiao Pei said, "You recognize me?"

The grey-clad Disciple laughed, "Sister Xiao Pei is someone by Aunt Yuan Qing's side; who wouldn't recognize you? Besides, Sister is so beautiful, who could ever forget you once they've seen you?"

Xiao Pei nodded and said, "You have a sharp eye. Your arrow." As she spoke, she threw the arrow back at him.

The grey-clad Disciple reached out to catch it, but little did he know that Xiao Pei's move was a feint. Although she made the motion of throwing, the arrow never left her hand, causing the man to grasp at empty air. Taking advantage of his moment of distraction, Xiao Pei backhanded a flick, shooting the small arrow into the man's face.

The arrow struck him right in the eye. The man let out a miserable shriek, collapsed to the ground, and howled while clutching his eye.

Tang Zhao was left dumbfounded, only to hear Xiao Pei sneer, "Since you recognize me, you should know who I belong to, and who the people I bring with me belong to. Can you not see the token at the YoungMaster's waist? Daring to make a move against him—are you provoking Sister Yuan Qing?"

Having said this, she turned and walked away. After a few steps, seeing Tang Zhao still standing there in a daze, she beckoned and smiled, "YoungMaster, this way."

The three of them arrived at the end of the training ground and saw a row of small houses, arranged tightly like a honeycomb.

Xiao Pei pointed to the last two rooms for them to put their things in, then stood in the courtyard and clapped her hands, saying, "Everyone, come over."

This little maid possessed immense authority; like a bird entering a forest, she silenced the flock. The grey-clad Disciples all stopped what they were doing and gathered silently.

"Who is this year's Grey Spider King?"

Tang Zhao was wondering who would have such a bizarre title when a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth with a gloomy expression stepped forward and said, "I am."

Xiao Pei asked, "What is your name?"

The youth said, "Jiao Feng."

Xiao Pei said, "Good, Jiao Feng, I'll remember you. These two—" she pointed at Tang Zhao, "—are now in your care. From today on, your fate is tied to theirs. If anything happens to them within this month, Sister Yuan Qing will surely kill you." Having said this, she bid Tang Zhao farewell and turned to leave.

Jiao Feng remained silent, staring at Tang Zhao as if to see what kind of grasshopper had suddenly been tethered to him.

Behind him, dozens of people stood silently, staring at Tang Zhao just like Jiao Feng, like a cluster of spiders on a web watching a trapped prey.

The atmosphere here was completely different from the high halls and bright pavilions earlier. With the final filter of the Human World stripped away, a faint haze permeated the air, weaving with the black walls and grey soil into a dim world.

"Alright, disperse." A man in black walked forward, waving the others away, saying, "Get back to your training. You have less than a month left. If you don't walk out of the Grape Courtyard upright, you'll be carried out of the Spider Pool horizontally."

The crowd shrank back, then silently scattered, leaving the area completely empty.

The man in black folded his hands and said with a sinister tone, "I know your type. Soft and tender like you—if you don't want to be eaten alive, then behave yourselves. This is the Grape Courtyard; Yuan Qing's reach doesn't extend this far." With that, he turned and left.

The two of them also remained silent, each returning to tidy up their rooms.

The rooms in the Grape Courtyard were extremely small, only large enough for a table and a bed. There were chests under the beds, and any extra belongings were kept inside them.

According to Yuan Qing's arrangements, the two of them needed to wait for the Teacher specially hired by Black Widow to arrive and provide guidance; they were not to concern themselves with anyone else.

And in an environment like this, to not concern oneself with others required an exceptionally strong inner heart.

The two settled in and waited for the Teacher to arrive. Wei Zhangle came in and said, "Brother Zhao, this place is extremely strange. We must be careful."

Tang Zhao knew he was reminding him because he had provoked a cold arrow earlier by watching others train, fearing he might cause more trouble. He said, "Indeed. I don't understand the Jianghu rules here at all; I don't know when I might offend someone."

Wei Zhangle said, "It's not your fault for not knowing, Brother Zhao. When you were studying before, what would happen if you looked at a stranger a few times? It wasn't cheating on an exam; who would flip a table and start a fight over that? But the Jianghu is a very dangerous place. Martial arts are not just a means of making a living, but a matter of life and death. They guard their skills with extreme importance; a single sideways glance from a bystander is enough for them to stage a full-blown vendetta."

Tang Zhao nodded repeatedly.

Wei Zhangle continued, "Then again, isn't it because you and I look like easy targets? Not to mention that we possess high-level martial arts; if we were built like oxen and looked fierce, would they have attacked without even asking a question? Martial arts can determine victory, defeat, and life or death. The strong can take the life of the weak with a wave of their hand, so people in the Jianghu know very well who can be bullied and who cannot."

Tang Zhao felt curious about Wei Zhangle's background. He had initially thought he was an ordinary refugee, living as hard a life as thousands of other refugee elders and children, but after getting to know him, he had gradually stopped hiding his speech and mannerisms, and he looked less and less like an ordinary person.

Wei Zhangle said, "Besides, this is the Five Poisons Society, which is even more lawless than other places in the Jianghu."

Tang Zhao had also heard of the Five Poisons Society. Earlier in the main hall, Xing Ji had even impersonated someone from the Five Poisons Society. He said, "Five Poisons Society... the name sounds like a demonic cult."

Wei Zhangle mused, "It must be a top-tier evil sect, at the very least the most notorious in this region. I've heard many legends about them along my journey. They are not only brutal but also the most bizarre and overbearing. In many Jianghu rumors, they aren't even human—they're a swarm of snakes, insects, rats, and ants, a bunch of Gu-insects, completely devoid of humanity." By the end, his voice had dropped to a whisper, becoming flat and hoarse.

Tang Zhao suddenly thought of the dead spider on Yuan Qing's head, and his heart turned cold. In all fairness, Black Widow and Yuan Qing had treated him well, and even if he didn't feel genuine closeness, he didn't feel disgust. But each of them seemed to be draped in a mysterious Shadow, and the entire villa possessed that strange, vicious, and even inhumane atmosphere; the Grape Courtyard was no exception.

Wei Zhangle continued, "For example, I heard a rumor on the road that there is a gang under the Five Poisons Society called the Giant Ant Gang, which razed half a county town in a single night."

Tang Zhao repeated, "Razed?"

Wei Zhangle said, "It means exactly what it sounds like. The Giant Ant Gang released hundreds of millions of ants and ate half the city hollow. Not even a single brick or tile was left."

Tang Zhao felt goosebumps rise all over his skin and said, "These are monsters, right?"

Wei Zhangle said, "There must be some absurd exaggerations in there, but we have also seen unbelievable things that were true. Who knows which is real and which is fake?"

The more Tang Zhao pondered, the more his teeth ached. He said, "They practice evil arts, right? Driving insects... are we going to learn that?"

Wei Zhangle said carefully, "I don't know if it's an evil art, but if it's a powerful evil art and their means of survival, surely they wouldn't pass it on easily, right?"

Tang Zhao understood immediately. Even if he wanted to learn an evil art, it would depend on whether they were willing to teach him. This was their signature skill; how could it be so easily taught to him? It would be good enough if he could learn some common, low-level techniques.

Furthermore, the Land Inspection Department had already given him their own "Body Refining Chapter," so his status was already clear. The Five Poisons Society would be even less likely to treat him as one of their own, and they would likely screen even the common techniques before agreeing to teach him.

After speaking, Wei Zhangle fell into deep thought, secretly musing: Although the Teacher was hired by the Five Poisons Society, the one calling the shots was the Land Inspection Department. If Lord Xing truly valued Brother Zhao, and the task he was to perform wasn't extremely dangerous, then the martial arts arranged would surely be common goods, so as not to entangle Brother Zhao too deeply with the Five Poisons Society, making it easier for the Land Inspection Department to make other arrangements later. If it was just for a one-time emergency, or if the mission was too dangerous—a life-or-death situation—then perhaps they would instill some evil arts that force growth, or even use drugs to catalyze it. If that were the case...

Then he would have to plan ahead!

Wei Zhangle did not mention his worries to Tang Zhao; for now, it was enough for one person to view others with the darkest of suspicions.

By the afternoon, someone finally notified them that the Teacher had arrived.

The person who came was a large man, nearly a zhang tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, wearing short clothes and cloth shoes, his muscles almost bursting out of his clothes.

Tang Zhao looked up at this large man who practically had the words "martial artist" written on his face, felt a sense of respect, cupped his hands, and asked, "May I ask, are you the Teacher?"

The large man was expressionless and said, "The Teacher is calling for you. Follow me."

The two were led to a small, detached courtyard at the end, where there was a small training ground; though small, it was fully equipped. At this time, the door to the main room was slightly ajar, with a thick curtain hanging down, and another large man, on par with the first, stood guard at the entrance, laughing, "Are these the two? Heh, like little chicks."

The cold-faced large man did not answer and said, "Who is Tang Zhao?"

Tang Zhao stepped forward to answer, and the large man said, "You go in first; the Teacher is waiting for you inside."

The two youths exchanged a glance, and Tang Zhao said, "Then I will go in first this time."

Walking into the room, the door curtain fell naturally behind him.

The light suddenly dimmed, growing gradually darker from the doorway toward the Inner hall.

The deepest part of the Inner hall was almost hidden in the Shadow.

"Over here."

The voice came, bright as a booming bell.

Tang Zhao turned his head abruptly; the voice came from the west room. A screen stood between the two rooms. A Micro Light seemed to shine through the opposite side of the semi-transparent amber screen.

Carefully, he walked around the screen, and the view before him suddenly opened up.

The windows were open, and the noon Sunlight spilled in abundantly. A person sat hunched at a table, bathed in the radiance, his upper body golden and glistening, as if he had grown a layer of golden down.

Golden-haired... Bear King?

Tang Zhao suddenly thought of such a term.

That person was too tall, too wide, too Taixiong!

If the two men outside were strong men among Humans, then this person was a true Human bear; his broad body almost blocked all sight, and the table and chair meant for normal Humans did not match his size at all, appearing as small as toys. The two giant palms resting on the table almost covered the entire surface.

"Click..."

Tang Zhao's back molars shifted slightly, and he suddenly thought: If he wanted to eat me, how many bites would it take?

One bite and my head would be gone, right?

He let his imagination run wild while sizing up the Taixiong, and that person was also sizing him up in return.

This kind of appraisal was condescending, stemming from the natural height difference between the two. Even though Tang Zhao was standing and the other was sitting.

After a moment, the other person spoke: "Tang Zhao?"

Tang Zhao stood solemnly, his whole body tense, and cupped his hands: "Teacher."

That person said, "My surname is Guan. You shall address me as Guan Jiao."

Tang Zhao addressed him earnestly: "Guan Jiao." His manners had always been good, good at all times.

That person nodded, his expression not particularly fierce, and said, "Come, let us arm wrestle."