Chapter 201: Jiang Biehe

Inside Yuloudong, there was not a single guest left.

The proprietor and the shop assistants had long since run off to hide somewhere.

As for these so-called heroes of the Jiangnan generation, they were either dead or wounded, their wails echoing incessantly.

Jiang Yulang, however, was a crafty little devil; the moment he saw the situation was wrong, he had actually slipped away without a sound.

"Jiang Biehe, come out."

Yu Liancheng remained seated on his stool, taking a shallow sip of wine: "Since you have already arrived, why bother hiding?"

Yuloudong was deathly silent.

"I am telling you to come out to give you a path to survival. If I have to get up to find you, you will only find death, even if you hide to the ends of the earth." Yu Liancheng's voice seemed to have turned cold.

Cold enough to make one's whole body shiver.

A moment later, the sound of footsteps rang out.

A scholar in green robes walked up; one could see that this man had clear brows and bright eyes, with a face like jade. In terms of spirit and bearing, he was indeed a fascinating figure.

But at this moment, his complexion was somewhat pale, and his arms seemed to be trembling slightly.

This man was naturally the "Jiangnan Hero" Jiang Biehe, who had risen to fame in recent years.

Beside the scholar in green robes, a youth followed closely behind.

It was none other than Jiang Yulang, who had slipped away during the chaos earlier.

Jiang Yulang walked with his head bowed, making it impossible for anyone to see his expression.

"Jiang Biehe pays his respects to Young Master Yu. My dog of a son is rude and actually dared to scheme against you; he truly deserves to die."

This Jiang Biehe bowed to Yu Liancheng with great respect, then proceeded to slap Jiang Yulang across the face, one blow after another, quickly making his face look like a red eggplant, swollen and raised.

By the time Jiang Biehe finished his dozen or so slaps, Jiang Yulang knelt down, his face covered in tears: "Young Master... Young Master, spare my life... It was all because this little one was momentarily blinded by greed... This little one knows he was wrong..."

Yu Liancheng did not speak, but merely watched this pair of father and son with a smile.

Jiang Biehe looked again at the several great martial arts masters still groaning on the ground and scolded sharply: "These people are all prominent figures of the Jiangnan generation, but because they only listened to my dog of a son's one-sided story, they dared to be disrespectful to you. They truly deserve to die, they truly deserve to die."

As he spoke, he drew a long sword with a brilliant gleam from his sleeve and walked toward one of them.

That man had previously shown joy upon seeing Jiang Biehe appear, thinking his savior had arrived. But at this moment, his expression changed drastically; he pointed a finger at Jiang Biehe and roared: "Jiang Biehe, this was originally your plan, we few..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Biehe's sword had already pierced his chest; fresh blood spurted wildly, and his arm hung limply down.

Jiang Biehe shook his head: "I originally thought you were a man of character, but I did not expect you to be unrepentant, daring to slander me before your death."

"He is the true mastermind..."

"Honey-mouthed and sword-hearted Jiang Biehe, even the Ten Great Villains are more..."

Amidst the flashing sword light, the few remaining Jiangnan heroes all died at the hands of Jiang Biehe, his methods clean and swift.

"Young Master Yu, the treacherous villains have been removed. I hope you can spare my son's life; he is still young, just a child..." Jiang Biehe bowed and cupped his hands.

"I beg you to spare my life, I beg you to spare my life." Jiang Yulang kowtowed incessantly, his forehead already broken. As he lowered his head, a look of malice and resentment flashed in his eyes.

This trace of resentment was not only directed at Yu Liancheng, but also at Jiang Biehe.

It was because Jiang Biehe's words had already completely distanced himself from this affair, as if he were merely an outsider.

Yu Liancheng glanced at Jiang Biehe and said faintly: "Abolish your son's martial arts."

"Many thanks to you for the grace of sparing his life." Jiang Biehe first expressed his gratitude, then suddenly turned and struck a palm fiercely onto Jiang Yulang's dantian.

"Father... you... you..." Jiang Yulang spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes staring wide, the whites of his eyes rolling up, and he actually fainted from the pain.

Yu Liancheng watched Jiang Biehe with a smile and said with a smile: "Very good, you are very decisive. To tell the truth, I even admire you a little. No matter what, being able to go from an obscure book boy to where you are now is a truly remarkable thing."

A book boy?

Jiang Biehe's smile suddenly froze.

"A hypocrite I have a deep impression of is called Yue Buqun, nicknamed 'Gentleman Sword'. He wanted to carry forward his sect and wanted to become the Martial Arts Alliance Leader. From this point of view, you two are similar; both have great ambition."

Yu Liancheng spoke eloquently: "But he was at least a sect leader, and his martial arts were quite good, yet many people in the Edo could see through his true face, and he was thwarted at every turn. You are different; starting from a book boy, your martial arts, career, and power are all within your grasp, and those who can understand your true face are few and far between. You are truly a remarkable person."

Jiang Biehe offered a fawning smile again: "Young Master... Young Master, what you are saying, I... I truly do not quite understand."

The corners of Yu Liancheng's mouth suddenly curled into a cruel smile. He said: "You are indeed a person of character, so I will give you one extra chance. You might as well try to scheme against me once more. But after this time, I will take your life, and I will take it in a very cruel way."

Jiang Biehe hurriedly said: "How would I dare to make a move against you... How would I dare to make a move against you..."

"However, one must always pay a price. If there is no price for you moving against me this time, how could that be justified?" Yu Liancheng suddenly stood up.

Jiang Biehe could not help but take two steps back: "Young Master, what are you..."

Before he could finish, a brilliant, dazzling sword light had already slashed across. Jiang Biehe had nowhere to hide and no way to avoid it.

"Ah!!"

Only a miserable scream from Jiang Biehe was heard. He covered the left side of his face with his hand, and fresh blood flowed continuously from between his fingers, dripping onto the ground drop by drop.

"Since you do not want your face, I will slice off this half of your face." Yu Liancheng had already walked away slowly: "By the way, remember to clean this place up and give the proprietor five hundred taels of silver. For us Edo people, disturbing others' business really requires a proper apology."

Yu Liancheng left Yuloudong and was just planning to find an inn to stay and get some good rest when a very magnificent carriage drove over.

The carriage stopped in front of Yu Liancheng, but the driver was a big woman.

She had her collar half-open, her hat worn askew, and she sat with a sturdy, broad-shouldered posture. One hand held the reins, while the other held a thick, long dry tobacco pipe: "May I ask if you are the 'Heavenly Soldier Master' Yu Liancheng?"

Upon hearing the four words 'Heavenly Soldier Master', Yu Liancheng could not help but show a smile: "It is I. May I ask who this big woman is?"

That big woman shook her head and said: "Not a big woman, I am San Guniang, the third daughter of the Duan Family."

Yu Liancheng pondered for a moment and said: "Duan Hefei's daughter, known in the Edo as 'Nü Mengchang'?"

That big woman laughed heartily, with quite a bit of heroic spirit: "That's right, it is me. My old man has an invitation. He was afraid you wouldn't come, so he had me drive the carriage to welcome you. No matter what, I must invite you to make the trip."