Chapter 69: 67 The Chosen Youth

67 The Chosen Youth

The red sun rose in the east; another night had passed.

Wang Cheng walked out of his room and pressed his shoulder, which felt uncomfortable from being poked by the hard wooden board. He felt it was somewhat inconceivable—he was clearly a powerful Knight-Errant, a prospective Sword Guest, nearly invulnerable to blades and spears, so how could he be so uncomfortable after sleeping on a hard bed for one night?

A Daoist Child walked toward him from the opposite side, carrying water.

"Bring the water over here." He beckoned.

The Daoist Child said, "Sorry, this is the water Miss Pei requested. There is boiled water over there; go get it yourself."

It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned Miss Pei, but once he did, Wang Cheng suddenly remembered something and looked carefully at the Daoist Child's face.

It was him.

The one his cousin had specifically spoken to yesterday... the pretty boy.

Wang Cheng considered himself dashing and handsome, not lacking in appearance, but this little Daoist Child was excessively so. Although his skin was slightly dark, his features were those of a standard pretty boy. Never mind his cousin, even he wanted to take a few extra looks—though, of course, the more he looked, the more he disliked him.

Just as he was about to make things difficult for this person, he felt it was beneath his status to bicker with someone so lowly. He huffed, "Bring the water to my room in a moment, and tidy it up again. My room isn't very clean; this place of yours is too shabby."

The Daoist Child asked in confusion, "Not clean? Wasn't it very clean yesterday? Did you wet the bed?"

Wang Cheng was furious and kicked out at him.

The Daoist Child instinctively used the water basin to block, and Wang Cheng's kick landed squarely on it. The basin overturned, and half a basin of hot water poured over his head and face, leaving him looking like a drowned rat.

Wang Cheng was hopping mad and shouted, "You little beast, how dare you..."

A door nearby opened, and Yun Xiangu walked out, shouting, "Why are you making such a racket early in the morning? What if you disturb the honored guest?"

Wang Cheng was still fuming and said with a cold face, "Yun Xiangu, the child in your temple lacks discipline; I don't know how you train them."

Yun Xiangu glanced at him and said, "Who are you?"

The veins on Wang Cheng's forehead bulged, and he barked, "This young master is Wang Cheng. You forgot me, but have you forgotten my father? Have you forgotten my Taicheng Wang Clan?"

Yun Xiangu smiled and said, "Ah, so it is Young Master Wang. My fault, guests haven't stopped coming since last night. One young master after another, one young lady after another, my temple is completely full, and I got confused for a moment. Please forgive me, Young Master. Zhaoyang, get lost quickly; don't be an eyesore to the young master here."

The little Daoist Child ran off in a flash. Wang Cheng, while gnashing his teeth, was involuntarily drawn in and asked, "Have many people come?"

Yun Xiangu pointed to the guest houses on both sides and said, "Eight proud talents are staying on these two sides. Master Pei and the others had no place to stay, so they discussed it and, except for the young people, they have all gone down the mountain now. Although I am the Host, I will also go down the mountain in a moment. This place is entirely under the charge of the Sword Guest, and managed by Miss Pei."

Wang Cheng was somewhat dazed for a moment and said, "My father and the others went down the mountain? No, that's not it—the Sword Guest has already arrived?"

Yun Xiangu said, "That is why I told everyone to keep their voices down. The honored guest arrived in the middle of the night, and Pei Laozu gave up the main room for him to rest. Later, several masters arrived one after another; those who wanted to pay their respects were all blocked, and now they have all gone down the mountain."

Wang Cheng felt a bit panicked. He stole a glance toward the main room, his saliva rolled in his throat a few times before he swallowed it, and his voice involuntarily dropped a few notches: "When my father left, did he not leave any words?"

Yun Xiangu smiled and said, "You were sleeping right next door at the time. If your father had words to give, he would have called you up to say them directly; why would he need me to pass them on? However, Miss Pei did ask everyone to hold a meeting at the hour of the Dragon."

Wang Cheng said, feeling uneasy, "Fine, I understand." He hurried back to change his clothes. A gust of wind blew, and he shivered—being splashed with a basin of water on a late autumn morning was truly bone-chilling!

Tang Zhao drew a new pot of water and replaced it for Pei Shoujing.

Several young people had already gathered in Pei Shoujing's room, both male and female; the older ones were similar in age to Wang Cheng, and the younger ones were not even ten years old.

He poured a cup of water for each person. Pei Shoujing whispered, "Are you really not staying? There won't be another opportunity like this in the future."

Tang Zhao shook his head and said, "I don't have that kind of fortune. With my meager status, rashly meeting an honored person would only shorten my life."

Pei Shoujing sighed and said, "As you wish." She felt somewhat unhappy in her heart; after all, it was her good intention, and Tang Zhao's excuse for declining was very stiff, as if he were deliberately going against her.

After Tang Zhao finished changing the water and went out, a chubby boy beside Pei Shoujing said, "Sister, who is this? He is quite sensible."

This little fatty was a member of the Pei Family, Pei Shoujing's cousin. He also had talent, just not as much as Pei Shoujing. His status in the family was not low; he was the direct line of the direct line. Yesterday, when all the families wanted to send people up, the Pei Family calculated that they shouldn't lose out, so they sent another child with talent up overnight.

Pei Shoujing didn't understand his words for a moment and said, "What?"

The little fatty shook his head and said, "In this world, there is an order of high and low, and Yin and Yang are long determined. The high is Heaven, the low is Earth. To follow Heaven with Earth is to be content and timely; to follow the superior with the inferior is to be honest and dutiful. To go against Heaven and violate fate, like an earthen pot making a thunderous sound, is the source of chaos. He, as a base and lowly body, knows his place and fate, and does not seek excessive fortune; he is very sensible. I like sensible people; I will take him as my Daoist Child."

Pei Shoujing listened in a daze and said, "Renhu, I remember you are only eleven years old; you talk like this? Exactly like Uncle?"

Pei Renhu said solemnly, "Because we both read books. Although I am small, I have read many books. Sister, you also read, but what you read are only poems and minor paths; they cannot guide you toward goodness, but instead shift your temperament and fall into the lower class. Without reading the rites, one does not know the correct principles. If you read more classics, you would know that what I said is correct."

Pei Shoujing was silent, then suddenly slapped him on the head and shouted, "Shut up! There is an order of high and low, and a path for elders and the young; how dare you talk back to your sister!"

Pei Renhu was speechless for a moment. Pei Shoujing shook her head secretly, thinking: *'From afar I know it is not snow, for it has a hidden fragrance.'* How could what he thinks be the same as yours?

At this time, Wang Cheng hurried in after changing his clothes. Pei Shoujing signaled him with her eyes to sit down and said, "Everyone is here. Including me, there are nine people from six families. I don't know what the Sword Guest wants in a moment. I can only remind you of a few things: First, everyone shut up."

Her gaze swept over everyone, lingering on Pei Renhu's face for a while longer, and she said, "The Sword Guest dislikes people talking too much. Especially lecturing with long-winded arguments. If he asks you something, use three words if you don't need four. Especially do not say irrelevant things. Introductions are also unnecessary; if he wants to know your names, he will ask on his own."

The few people agreed one after another. The younger ones were fine, but the older ones couldn't help but think: *He doesn't even allow us to introduce ourselves, so doesn't that mean it's all up to her to speak? Is it really going to be like this, or is she using a chicken feather as a token of authority? *

Pei Shoujing continued, "Also, if you see a white-haired girl by his side, be polite. Do not be disrespectful." She looked at Pei Renhu again. One reason was that Pei Renhu was as arrogant as her uncle, and the other was that he was her only brother; she didn't need to worry about the others, as they would stop when they should.

Time passed unconsciously until the hour of the Dragon was at its peak. The door of the main room opened, and the white-haired Sword Guest walked out, sitting on a chair under the plum tree. His hair and skin were all white; he looked as if he were made of snow.

Pei Shoujing had long been waiting in the courtyard with the group of disciples.

They occupied more than half of the small courtyard, person pressed against person, creating quite a few blind spots.

Tang Zhao stood behind a guest house, observing the situation in the courtyard.

Almost there... the time has come.

"What exactly are you doing here?"

Tang Zhao turned his head and saw Yun Xiangu, also known as Black Widow, standing behind him with an unkind expression.

"I told you to go back, but you ran back yourself, acting all mysterious and I don't know what for. Have your wings hardened? Still playing with danger? Look at that Sword Guest; didn't you see that battle last night..."

Black Widow said this and suddenly raised her eyebrows, saying, "You want to save Si Liyu?"

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "I'll try..."

Black Widow's eyebrows stood up, and she said, "Overestimating your capabilities! Relying on you? You want to sneak into the room while no one is looking, put Si Liyu on your back, and run?"

Tang Zhao said, "Of course I can't do it alone; I have a plan..."

What plan did I have again?

Take advantage of the Sword Guest coming out, I sneak in, and then... put Si Liyu on my back and run?

"Brother Zhao."

Hearing this voice, Tang Zhao relaxed and said, "You finally came."

Black Widow was also startled, looking at Wei Zhangle before her, and asked, "How did you suddenly appear?"

Wei Zhangle replied vaguely, "I have a method for invisibility."

Black Widow gave an "oh," not finding it strange, as Sword Arts are varied and bizarre, and invisibility is nothing special. She did not think of "Disappearance," because she did not remember Wei Zhangle as a person before, and would not feel that she had forgotten him.

She asked suspiciously, "Since you can turn invisible, you could have just gone in yourself to bring Si Liyu out. What does that have to do with Tang Zhao?"

Wei Zhangle sighed and said, "That was what we planned at first."

Because Disappearance is very powerful, Wei Zhangle did not actually need to wait for the Sword Guest to come out to enter; he could have waited for the white-haired man to fall asleep, gone straight in, and made Si Liyu disappear as well, so that the white-haired man would have forgotten Si Liyu upon waking up.

But an accident occurred; after he successfully entered, he discovered there was no way to pull Si Liyu into the state of Disappearance.

In Wei Zhangle's hands, the Disappearance state of this Dharma Artifact can be maintained indefinitely, but it is limited to himself. He can also bring other people or objects into the state, relying on two Sword Techniques: "Forced Concealment" and "Drifting Away." Forced Concealment is for people, and Drifting Away is for objects.

At the time, when making Tang Zhao disappear, Wei Zhangle used Forced Concealment, successfully taking the person away right under the Sword Guest's nose.

But when it came to Si Liyu, Wei Zhangle discovered his Sword Technique had failed. He did not know the specific reason, but it was very likely due to a gap in strength; clearly, after cultivating to a certain level, one develops some resistance to Sword Techniques. And Wei Zhangle's foundation is too shallow.

"Later we thought, we could have Zhangle activate the sword weapon and then hand it directly to Teacher Si. Teacher Si could adapt to the Sword Technique."

Previously, Si Liyu had once used the Disappearance state at a banquet to scout various places, as long as he held the sword.

But the problem was, Si Liyu was not naturally compatible with the Sword Technique and could not activate the Sword Art; after he disappeared, others could not disappear, and only he himself could come out, while the others would have to be left behind.

This was a limit-one-for-one problem.

So their plan was for Tang Zhao to go in, Si Liyu to come out, Tang Zhao to hide in the room, and Wei Zhangle to provide support from the outside, then go back in after getting the sword to bring Tang Zhao out.

"It's like a teapot holding ten liters of water, a cup holding four liters, and a cup holding seven liters; how can you fill the teapot? We pondered this for a long time."

Black Widow snorted, "Are you still quite proud of yourselves? Relying on these little schemes to flip things back and forth, is it as fun as playing a game?" She glared at Tang Zhao and said, "Regardless, there is one piece of advice Xing Ji gave you. Your aptitude must never be exposed before a Sword Guest."

"And you, Wei Zhangle, you both must understand. To a Sword Guest, a child with Inspiration is not just useful as a Disciple. Have you ever thought about it? Even He Yang County has such large-scale human trafficking; are all those children sold like cattle and horses going into major factions to be junior Disciples?"

Tang Zhao's hair stood on end. Black Widow glanced at the youths surrounding the Sword Guest in the courtyard and said, "Only these country squires who have never seen the world would think that stuffing their own Disciples into the hands of a stranger Sword Guest is a good thing. Do you think this white-haired man came here with good intentions?"