Chapter 829: The Peerless Twins

Tianxiangju is one of the few famous restaurants in Cangzhou Prefecture. The building rises high, and it is said that the head chef came from the Imperial Palace. It is nearly noon, and the restaurant is crowded with people from all walks of life, especially martial artists carrying swords and blades. Yet, these martial artists have no mind for the fine wine and delicacies; they look out of the building from time to time, as if waiting for something.

"Will that person really come?"

"Really."

"What kind of order did you receive?"

"Haha, I am a hero of great reputation in the Edo, and everything I do is upright and honorable. Who dares to say otherwise? Naturally, I received a Reward-Good Order."

"I received a Punish-Evil Order. Sigh, I committed a wrong in the past and thought I could muddle through it, but I didn't expect to have to pay the debt in my old age."

"Hmph, what is the Demon-Elimination Hall? By what right do they reward good and punish evil!!"

"Look at your miserable state; I fear the debt you have to pay is not small."

At a window seat in Tianxiangju, an old man and a youth are sitting.

"This Tianxiangju is truly lively. Eight or nine out of ten famous martial artists in Cangzhou Prefecture have come." The speaker is an old man of sixty or seventy, with graying temples. However, his hands are unusually large, and his fingers, though appearing withered and thin, give one a sense of steadiness and power. He is none other than the quite famous "Strange Old Man with Strange Hands" in Cangzhou, Wang Laoguai.

"Master, why have so many people come?" The thirteen or fourteen-year-old youth sitting beside him is Wang Laoguai's newly accepted disciple. He is holding a roast duck, his mouth covered in grease.

Wang Laoguai is quite patient with this young disciple and takes a sip of tea: "The Divine Sword Envoy of the Demon-Elimination Hall has come to Cangzhou Prefecture and issued the 'Reward-Good and Punish-Evil Order' three days ago. Some of the martial artists here have received the order, while others, like you and me, have come to witness the spectacle. Of course, there are inevitably some with ulterior motives, hehe."

The youth was previously just a farm boy. While he was doing farm work, Wang Laoguai noticed his unusual bone structure, which was perfect for practicing his own unique skill, the "Wind-Chasing Cloud-Turning Hand," so he took him as a disciple. He doesn't even count as having entered the Edo yet, has no breadth of vision, and, being a youth, cannot suppress his curiosity: "Master, what is the Demon-Elimination Hall? What is a Divine Sword Envoy? And what is the Reward-Good and Punish-Evil Order?"

Wang Laoguai laughs: "That's a whole lot of questions; it will take some time to explain."

The youth tugs on Wang Laoguai's sleeve: "Master, just tell me about it."

Wang Laoguai flicks away the greasy hand and says unhurriedly: "To speak of all this, one must mention one person."

"Who?"

"The Heavenly Soldier Master, Hall Master of the Demon-Elimination Hall, Yu, Lian, Cheng."

Wang Laoguai spits out the last three characters one by one, as if each word carries the weight of ten million jun.

"It is said that in the past, Yannantian entered the Villain's Valley to seek revenge for the murder of his sworn brother Jiang Feng, but from then on, there was no news of him, and many thought he was dead. It wasn't until more than ten years later that a Treasure Map related to Yannantian suddenly appeared in the Edo, causing quite a bloody storm. I don't know how many Edo heroes lost their lives because of this invisible, intangible treasure, and the location shown on the final Treasure Map was actually the burial ground of the past sect leaders of the Emei Sect..."

What truly made Yu Liancheng famous was the battle at the Emei Jin-di.

In Wang Laoguai's narration, the youth learns that Yu Liancheng first defeated Shenxi Daozhang of Emei Mountain, then ordered the heroes to apologize to the people of Emei to resolve the grievances. Afterward, Hua Wuque and two maids appeared, and Hua Wuque engaged in a bout with Yu Liancheng, only to be easily defeated. The youth is beaming with excitement, wishing he could take his place.

After finishing this story, Wang Laoguai takes another sip of tea to moisten his throat, then recounts how Yu Liancheng found the true culprit behind the design of the Treasure Map and caused the Jiangnan hero Jiang Biehe to be disgraced, showing both superb martial arts and astonishing wisdom, leaving the young man full of admiration.

Guests at nearby tables also stop their discussions, listening intently. Although they are also Edo travelers, they truly do not know the events of those years as clearly as this old man, Wang Laoguai.

Wang Laoguai says: "Young Hero Yu is righteous and upright, a giant of the righteous path. Besides the Treasure Map case, he also eliminated most of the Twelve Zodiacs, clearing a great scourge for the martial arts world. Perhaps feeling that there are too many villains and evil deeds in the world, Hero Yu established the Demon-Elimination Hall, with himself as the Hall Master, and appointed six Divine Sword Envoys. They are to punish evil and promote good, and to block and sweep away the treacherous and wicked."

"Hero Yu is a divine dragon from beyond the heavens, whose head and tail are hard to find, so many matters of the Demon-Elimination Hall are handled by these six Divine Sword Envoys. These Divine Sword Envoys are undoubtedly top-tier figures in the world. For example, the Young Fungong of Yihua Palace, Hua Wuque, whose 'Moving Flowers and Grafting Jade' technique can be called miraculous; many old seniors cannot even last twenty moves under his hand. Or take the ever-scheming Jiang Xiaoyu; this person is extremely clever, and many of the major events carried out by the Demon-Elimination Hall were planned by him. And then there is the 'Evil Gambler' Xuanyuan Sanguang..."

"Wait, Master, I remember you saying that Xuanyuan Sanguang is one of the Ten Great Villains? How did he become a Divine Sword Envoy?" the youth asks in surprise.

Wang Laoguai shakes his head: "Xuanyuan Sanguang is indeed an Evil Gambler, but he is not a heinous criminal after all. The reason he is listed among the Ten Great Villains is because he loves gambling to the point of obsession, and every time he gambles, he must gamble until the sky is bright, the earth is bright, and the people are bright. But his gambling ethics are excellent; he never reneges on a debt. Moreover, when he looks for people to gamble with, he often seeks out those who have committed evil deeds themselves, so he is still worth saving. I don't know what means Hero Yu used to subdue this man and make him one of the Divine Sword Envoys. In recent times, he has also done quite a few sensational things."

"That should be the case." A guest at a nearby table says: "We Edo travelers are used to doing as we please; we may not be great villains, but who dares to say they have never done a single thing against their conscience in their lives? If they don't even give people a chance to turn over a new leaf, wouldn't this Demon-Elimination Hall kill all the heroes in the world?"

The youth scratches his head. In his mind, all villains and bad people should be killed, but he doesn't argue at this moment: "Then I wonder which Divine Sword Envoy has come to Cangzhou Prefecture this time?"

Wang Laoguai says: "It should be the 'Little Fairy' Xiaoxiannv Zhang Jing."

The youth's eyes light up; he is clearly more interested in the "female hero" and hurriedly asks for more details. Wang Laoguai laughs and taps him on the head, then tells him about the background of the Little Fairy, not forgetting to warn him that this Little Fairy not only has an ambiguous relationship with Yu Liancheng but also has a fiery personality and hates evil with a passion. When he sees her later, he shouldn't just foolishly rush up to get close, or he might get whipped.

The youth mutters to himself: "I won't, it's not like I haven't seen beauties before." Half a month ago, because he was diligent in his martial arts training, his master gave him a few taels of silver, and he secretly ran to the Yichun Brothel. Although he didn't have the courage to go inside, he saw plenty from the outside. Everyone inside was a great beauty, their voices were sweet, and they were showing a lot of skin, which kept the youth awake for half the night.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!!

Just then, the sound of horse hooves rings out, and a red-clad rider on a red horse approaches from afar.