Chapter 55: The Expert on the Island (Bonus chapter for 2000 tip)

Yu Liancheng clapped his hands and said, "Wu with the 'mouth' and 'sky' radicals, Ming with the sun and moon. A good name, a very good name; this name is truly excellent."

Xiao Laotou laughed, "Actually, at most I just have a mouth that is gluttonous and fond of eating. As for the brightness of the sun and moon, I don't possess even a shred of it."

"I'm afraid that's not necessarily true. A person like you, old sir, if you were willing, would likely be someone whose words carry the weight of heaven and whose brilliance rivals the sun and moon throughout the entire Central Plains Martial Arts World," Yu Liancheng laughed. "Of course, Wu Ming is already quite remarkable, but if one day you could be 'Wuming' (nameless), that would be truly remarkable."

"'Wu Ming' is simple, but 'Wuming' is truly not easy. If this old man could go from Wu Ming to Wuming, perhaps I would have reached another realm by then." Xiao Laotou sighed softly, unexpectedly filled with infinite melancholy.

The two exchanged cryptic remarks; this seemingly muddled conversation actually contained a supreme philosophy of martial arts. Those capable of understanding these few sentences can be counted on one's fingers in this day and age.

"The guest has had a tiring journey by boat; your room is prepared, and I have also sent people to ready the evening banquet." Xiao Laotou still wore his smiling expression, though after the previous conversation, his gaze toward Yu Liancheng was subtly different. "I wonder if the guest would like to rest, or walk around and see the sights with me? The scenery on the Island is quite good."

Yu Liancheng said, "I am not particularly tired. After sailing the seas for several days, I only felt bored. It would be better to accompany the host to look around now."

Xiao Laotou laughed heartily and bowed to invite his guest.

The two walked slowly forward, chatting from time to time.

Their words were plain, seemingly discussing ordinary matters, yet every sentence appeared to contain the truths of Martial Dao.

If a martial artist were to overhear them, they would only need to grasp three or five of their sentences to be able to run rampant through the pugilistic world for a time.

Yu Liancheng could not help but sigh in his heart; the breadth of Xiao Laotou's martial arts learning and the depth of his insight were truly unimaginable.

His cultivation of Martial Dao had likely reached the realm of returning to simplicity, which was why he appeared so "ordinary," without a single extraordinary trait.

He did not know, however, that Xiao Laotou's amazement at him was no less than his own.

Although Xiao Laotou was conceited, at Yu Liancheng's age, he had absolutely no such martial arts cultivation or depth of thought.

Walking out of a flower path, there was another flower path; passing through flower clusters, there were still more flower clusters. The surrounding mountain peaks were lush with green, the clear sky was as clean as if washed, and ahead, at the head of the Nine-Turn Bridge over a lotus pond, stood a water pavilion with vermilion railings and green tiles.

When the two entered the Shuige, there were already a dozen or so people there.

Some were standing, some were sitting. There were men and women, old and young, and their attire and dress were all different; some wore solemn and magnificent ancient robes, while others had merely draped a loose gown over themselves casually.

They all looked very relaxed, their expressions quite cheerful, as if all the troubles and sorrows of the mortal world had long been isolated outside the surrounding green mountains.

"What do you think of them?" Xiao Laotou pointed at the people in the Shuige.

Yu Liancheng scrutinized every person carefully and pondered, "Their martial arts, if placed in the pugilistic world, could all be considered experts."

Xiao Laotou laughed, "Compared to that group of mediocrities in the pugilistic world, they are of course experts. But compared to you, the 'Jade-Faced Divine Sword', they count for nothing."

Yu Liancheng said, "There is no need to put it that way; a few of them are still quite worth watching."

Xiao Laotou said, "Oh? Which ones?"

Yu Liancheng said, "For instance, that person who looks very young but has a small mustache. He seems to practice the Bone-Melting Cotton Palm, and it has already reached a certain level of proficiency."

Xiao Laotou said, "Besides him?"

"That old pedant sitting to the side, with fingernails over an inch long—I fear he practices the Finger Blade, which is mentioned in the same breath as the One-Finger Zen and the Flicking Finger Divine Skill. This art is also not simple at all."

Yu Liancheng spoke eloquently, "The sour scholar acting as the dealer has an aura that is a unified whole; he should be practicing the Primordial Qi Gong. And that beauty in the sleeping gown—just looking at her hands, one knows her sword technique is not bad."

His voice was not low, and he did not avoid being heard in the slightest. Since those present were all experts, there was naturally no reason they could not hear him. Although they were still gambling, they were already listening intently, and their gazes could not help but drift over.

The few people pointed out by name by Yu Liancheng showed slight expressions of pride on their faces, and their chests puffed out unconsciously.

"Good, good, good." Xiao Laotou clapped his hands in praise, "I never imagined that although you are young, your eye for talent is not lacking at all."

Yu Liancheng laughed, "I just happened to know them, that's all."

Xiao Laotou added, "Then if you were to cross hands with them, who would have the better chance of winning?"

Yu Liancheng laughed, "The martial arts they practice are all unique skills that have long been lost to the pugilistic world. Any one of them would be difficult to deal with. It is a pity, however, that their practice seems to be lacking..."

Some things did not need to be finished; others could already understand the meaning of the words.

Upon hearing his words, the expressions of the crowd turned cold.

What an arrogant young man.

Apart from Xiao Laotou, I fear that even Nine Young Master would not dare to utter such boastful words when facing these few.

Xiao Laotou also glanced at him, "You have a lot of confidence in yourself?"

Yu Liancheng said, "I have always had a lot of confidence in myself."

"Good, good, good, you are truly full of surprises." The smile on Xiao Laotou's face deepened, "How about it, are you interested in going in and playing a few rounds with them?"

Yu Liancheng shrugged, "It is a pity that I left in a hurry and did not bring much in the way of silver notes."

Xiao Laotou said, "I will lend them to you."

Having said this, he had already pulled a stack of silver notes from his bosom, estimated to be several tens of thousands of taels of silver.

"Good, I will return them to you in a moment."

The table was piled high with gold, silver, and jewels. The way they gambled was indeed simple and straightforward: they only used three dice. A "Leopard Six" with identical pips naturally swept the board, "Four-Five-Six" was also not small, and "One-Two-Three" was almost a guaranteed loss.

Yu Liancheng's hands were already feeling a bit itchy.

When he was a playboy beyond the Great Wall, he often frequented gambling dens and brothels; he was already intimately familiar with the techniques involved.

Ordinary dice, once in his hands, seemed to become alive and very obedient. If he wanted them all red, the dice would absolutely never show a single black dot.

The sour scholar acting as the dealer glanced at Yu Liancheng and gave a cold huff, "Place your bets quickly, the bigger the bet, the better."

"I'll bet ten thousand taels." Yu Liancheng pulled out ten thousand taels of silver to place his bet.

The sour scholar said, "You are a newcomer, so this ten thousand taels can only count as one thousand taels."

For anyone, having ten thousand taels turn into one thousand taels would be very hard to accept.

Yu Liancheng, however, did not care much and smiled, nodding, "Fine, one thousand taels it is."

Everyone had placed their bets, and the dealer gave a low shout, "Sweep the board."

The dice were thrown into the bowl; two were sixes, and one was a three.

The few people took turns throwing; some won, some lost.

After the beauty in the sleeping gown threw, it was Yu Liancheng's turn.

He did not seem to care much, just tossing them casually. With a clinking sound, the dice landed in the bowl; two dice had stopped, but the third was still spinning in the bowl.