Chapter 406: Peach Blossom Sword God Deng Taie

The book boy rode the donkey backward into the town and asked curiously, "Master, why did you suddenly want to come out for a walk?"

"Just a sudden feeling in my heart, that's all."

The middle-aged man's features were plain, but he had a habit of curling the corners of his mouth, making him look as if he were always smiling, which in turn made his unremarkable face appear gentle and mellow.

"Master, don't try to fool me. Recently, a Murong Tonghuang has appeared in the Edo. It is said his sword techniques are extremely high; he occupied Huishan and calls himself 'Heavenly Venerable'. We are on the road to Huishan right now, so you must want to go and take a look at that person." To be precise, he was a sword boy, but the youth, who had almost never carried the sword for his master, giggled.

"You're the only one who's smart." The middle-aged man chuckled.

He had not lied to the sword boy; it was truly just a feeling in his heart.

"Hehe, it is said that Murong Tonghuang is not only highly skilled in martial arts but also very handsome, and he has a very, very beautiful sister. I wonder if it's true or false."

"What if it's true? What if it's false? It is nothing more than a skin bag." The middle-aged man was indifferent.

"That's not true. When I grow up and take a wife, I'm going to choose a beautiful one. I don't want to be a bachelor like you, Master." The sword boy's eyes lit up.

"Thinking about a wife before you've even grown up." The middle-aged man laughed in spite of himself.

The sword boy continued in a tone of frustration, "Master, I've heard that the Old Sword God Li Chungang was very dashing in his youth, with countless female confidantes in his life, making countless heroines swoon. Yet you, the New Sword God, are all alone. I've never seen any heroine go crazy for you. If you were thrown into a crowd, no one would even recognize you."

The middle-aged man in coarse linen clothes was worthy of his reputation for having a temperament as calm as the Dao. He touched his own face and said with a chuckle, "Perhaps it's because I'm not handsome enough. I'll try harder in the future."

"Master, don't be discouraged. If you tidy yourself up, there will still be women who like you."

The sword boy patted the middle-aged man's shoulder again, speaking in a mature and steady tone to reassure him.

"Besides, we Edo people value martial arts above all else. You, the New Sword God, have fought Wang Xianzhi three times, neither winning nor losing. That Li Chungang, however, had his Wooden Ox and Horse snapped in two by a forty-year-old Wang Xianzhi with just a finger, becoming a stepping stone for others. I think he's just a fancy pillow with a hollow reputation."

The middle-aged man showed a rare look of gravity and said in a deep voice, "Sanlu, you are not allowed to be disrespectful to the old senior Li."

Seeing his master was angry, the young sword boy did not dare to spout any more nonsense and obediently said "Oh," then changed his target for belittlement: "I think that old man Wang is just a dog sitting on a pile of dog dung, calling himself king. If you used your full strength, Master, you would definitely beat him so hard his own parents wouldn't recognize him."

The man shook his head and looked up at the sky: "Don't count on that in this lifetime. It's more likely he'd beat me so hard my own parents wouldn't recognize me."

The sword boy crossed his arms, angry at his master's lack of ambition, and huffed and puffed in a sulk.

The middle-aged man was indifferent: "You children naturally don't understand what it means when they say, 'If Heaven had not birthed Li Chungang, the Sword Dao would have been a long, eternal night.' In these five hundred years, there have been countless swordsmen in the world, but in the end, only this old senior's Sword Dao cultivation has chased after that of Lv Zu."

"As for Wang Laoguai, as long as he claims second place, no one in the world dares to claim first. Even if Lv Zu were to descend to the world, he might not dare to let him get close. He is truly invincible."

"I might have luckily surpassed old senior Li in killing, but it was only by a slight margin. When it comes to Sword Dao cultivation, I am far behind."

The sword boy only listened to what he wanted to hear and immediately beamed: "Whether it's practicing martial arts or practicing the sword, isn't it all just to fight and kill? You are the number one, Master."

The middle-aged man smiled: "You certainly have a clear perspective."

"That goes without saying." The youth riding the donkey puffed out his chest and struck a pose of an expert, but as his stomach let out a "gurgle," he wilted again: "Master, I'm hungry."

The middle-aged man stopped his small movements of twirling the Peach Blossom Branch and smiled: "Alright, let's find a steamed bun shop and fill our stomachs."

The sword boy riding the donkey immediately pulled a long face: "Steamed buns again."

The middle-aged man patted his head: "It's good enough that there's something to eat."

The sword boy's eyes rolled, and he said, "Master, I don't want to eat steamed buns. Why don't you give me my share of the copper coins?"

How could the middle-aged man not know what he was thinking? He smiled: "How much silver have you saved up?"

The sword boy said with a grin: "Fifteen taels. I've already agreed with the blacksmith Wang that once I save up eighteen taels, he'll sell me that sword he keeps at the bottom of his chest."

The middle-aged man said: "You still need to eat. At your age, if you don't eat your fill, you won't even have the strength to wield a sword."

The sword boy muttered: "But I really don't want to eat steamed buns. Can we eat something else?"

The middle-aged man gave a bitter smile and felt his pouch, but there were not many taels of silver left.

Everyone in the Edo had heard of the prestige of the Peach Blossom Sword God Deng Taie, but no one would have guessed he would be worried about a meal.

For an expert like him, obtaining gold and silver was far too easy, but if he were to do something that went against his heart, there would be no Deng Taie today.

"Deng Taohua, any interest in coming up for a drink?" A clear, bright voice rang out from the restaurant nearby. A man was leaning out, looking at the middle-aged man with a smile: "My treat."

"What a handsome young master." The middle-aged man could be said to have seen countless people, but upon seeing this handsome face, he was still stunned.

The sword boy was also dazed for a moment, then jumped off the donkey, handed it to the waiter, and excitedly pulled the still-hesitating middle-aged man toward the upper floor: "Master, what are you spacing out for? Someone is offering a free meal and drinks; only an idiot wouldn't go."

"Are you a bottomless pit?" The middle-aged man shook his head and smiled, but if he hadn't also wanted to see the person upstairs, how could the sword boy have pulled him along?

The master and servant went up to the second floor and saw a pair of people who looked like celestial beings; even more strangely, their features were eight or nine parts similar.

The handsome youth looked at the middle-aged man holding the Peach Blossom and smiled: "Peach Blossom Sword God Deng Taie?"

Deng Taie's gaze was likewise fixed on the youth: "Heavenly Venerable Murong Tonghuang?"

The two seemed to be asking each other, but their tones carried a sense of certainty.

Yu Liancheng smiled: "An encounter is better than an invitation. Sword God Deng, please sit. I am the host today."

"Then many thanks." Deng Taie still had a warm smile on his face, but his heart had already begun to ripple.

Earlier, when the other party leaned his head out from the upper floor, he had been unable to detect a single trace of the other party's Qi; it was ethereal and unfathomable, as if such a person did not exist in the world at all.

Even now that the other party was sitting right in front of him, he still seemed to be shrouded in layers of mist, making it hard for one to see him clearly.

By this time, how could the Peach Blossom Sword God not know that this handsome youth before him was an expert standing at the pinnacle of the Edo, whose martial arts cultivation had reached an unfathomable level.

Each generation of the world produces its own talents.

……