Chapter 277

Lunatics also come in different varieties.

Someone like Gao Anyu could be considered a specialty of the Jianghu. When he said "killing him counts as a good time" just now, the excitement in his eyes did not look faked.

When he meets someone with poor Wu Gong, he shows no respect at all; when he meets someone with high Wu Gong, he fawns over them to build a connection, then begs them to fight him.

Although Cao Hanyan did not wander the Jianghu much, he had heard plenty of stories from Yin Suqin, and this variety of madman was a frequent guest in them.

Murderous maniacs, martial arts fanatics.

Cao Hanyan took a step back, his hand moving slightly to the hilt of his blade. His other hand threw Shu Qingyi behind him.

Gao Anyu frowned, then smiled and said.

"Brother Cao, do not misunderstand."

He smiled enthusiastically.

"I was a bit abrupt just now, and perhaps it displeased Brother Cao."

"Although I very much want to have a fight with Brother Cao, I do not want Brother Cao to misunderstand me—it is true that some have called me a madman, and I do indeed like to kill, but I do not kill just anyone."

"Those few pieces of trash just now, didn't I spare their lives?"

Gao Anyu patted his chest and said proudly.

"I am a good madman!"

Before Cao Hanyan could react, he heard a burst of laughter from inside the ruined temple.

"Hahaha, interesting, a good madman, that is interesting indeed."

"Little Cao, your elders are right here; since you have met a new friend, why not bring him in for an introduction?"

Cao Hanyan's face turned bitter.

Opposite him, Gao Anyu's face beamed with joy.

"Brother Cao, are those your sect elders inside? Is their blade technique as outstanding as yours, and is their Wu Gong even higher than yours?"

"Quick! Quickly take me to meet them!"

Cao Hanyan truly did not know what to do.

Who else could be inside the ruined temple but Li Miao?

If he really let this madman in, what if he started challenging Li Miao without any sense of propriety? If he really was a "good madman" but ended up being slapped to death by Li Miao, Cao Hanyan feared he wouldn't be able to sleep for nights.

Cao Hanyan reached out to stop him, but Gao Anyu rolled his eyes, and taking advantage of Cao Hanyan's lack of guard, he flashed into the ruined temple and looked inside excitedly.

He saw a campfire burning in the center of the ruined temple, and two people sitting beside it.

A woman, aged around thirty, with ordinary clothing and appearance, her scabbard resting at her feet, her long sword held in her hand and suspended over the campfire—it was actually skewering a wild rabbit, which was sizzling with oil.

And opposite this woman was a wooden recliner that looked out of place in the ruined temple, still having some unpruned branches on it, as if it had been made not long ago.

A middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties sat on it, one leg crossed beneath him, the other dangling in mid-air, his left hand resting on the armrest supporting his face, looking over at him with great interest.

It was none other than the disguised Li Miao and Zheng Yi.

There was no help for it; Li Miao was currently known to everyone in the entire Great Shu Jianghu, and this trip was different from the previous search for Xue Bangzhu; it was meant to be an undercover investigation.

If he did not disguise himself, he feared he wouldn't be able to walk a few miles before the entire Jiangxi Wu Lin knew that Lord Li had arrived. If that caused a huge stir, how would he find the people of Penglai?

But Gao Anyu did not know these things.

After seeing Li Miao and Zheng Yi clearly, a look of disdain appeared on his face, and he sighed without any attempt to hide it.

"Just them? I thought—"

Because Li Miao and Zheng Yi had both concealed their Wu Gong, Gao Anyu's level was simply unable to see through their depths, and he only felt they were two ordinary commoners.

With his temperament, he naturally became "impolite" immediately.

"Brother Gao, do not be rude!"

Cao Hanyan followed him in and hurriedly interrupted sternly.

"These two are my, my elders!"

He felt a bit guilty when he lied.

"If Brother Gao considers me a friend, you are not allowed to be rude to them!"

"Otherwise—I will never spar with you again!"

In his desperation, this was the only thing Cao Hanyan could think of. As soon as he said it, he felt incredibly embarrassed, feeling that the words were as childish as a child saying "I won't play with you anymore" during an argument.

Yet Gao Anyu actually began to panic, at a loss for what to do. He froze for a moment, then hurriedly bowed deeply to Li Miao and Zheng Yi.

"The two of you, this youngster Gao Anyu, offers his greetings!"

"If there has been any abruptness or offense, I truly hope you will be magnanimous!"

After finishing, he reached into his robes as if to pull out something to apologize with, but came up empty again, and immediately became anxious.

Helpless, he bowed to the ground again, offering a deep salute to Li Miao and Zheng Yi.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I really didn't bring anything today. Tomorrow I will go kill a few river pirates, steal their money, and then give it to you two as an apology!"

"Could you two help me persuade Brother Cao not to be angry with me, and not to refuse to fight me, please?"

After saying this, he looked up at Li Miao ingratiatingly.

Cao Hanyan was speechless for a moment.

Besides being a madman, how did it feel like his mental state was like that of a child?

What kind of background did he have?

Li Miao's gaze, however, became increasingly interested, and he waved his hand, smiling as he said.

"No matter, no matter."

"Since you are a friend of our Little Cao, come sit. It just so happens your Aunt Zheng's rabbit is almost roasted, let's eat a bit together."

Gao Anyu beamed with joy.

"Yes!"

He answered, flashed to the side of the campfire, and sat down cross-legged with perfect posture. He threw his strange long sword at his feet, his round eyes staring fixedly at Li Miao and Zheng Yi.

"How should I address the two elders?"

He asked obediently.

"My name is Li Shu, you can just call me Uncle Li."

Li Miao smiled mischievously.

"She is called Zheng Yi, you can just call her Aunt Zheng."

"Yes, Uncle, Aunt!"

Gao Anyu called out with extreme obedience. Li Miao laughed even more happily, but Zheng Yi's face became embarrassed.

She was only in her twenties, about the same age as Gao Anyu, yet she was being addressed this way. She was immediately quite displeased, but she didn't dare to argue with Li Miao, so she just glared at Gao Anyu, making him feel incredibly aggrieved.

Cao Hanyan knew by now that Li Miao's playful mood had returned, so he didn't dare say much, only sighing as he carried Shu Qingyi over to sit down.

He heard Li Miao ask with a smile.

"Little Gao, is it? Is your Wu Gong very good?"

Speaking of Wu Gong, Gao Anyu immediately raised his head proudly.

"That goes without saying! Below the Peak, I rarely meet an opponent!"

Li Miao smiled again and said.

"And above the Peak?"

"The odds of winning are two to eight, no, no, three, three to seven!"

Gao Anyu looked troubled and said hesitantly.

Li Miao continued to tease him.

"And what about Celestial Beings?"

"Uh... one, one... one to nine..."

Gao Anyu's voice gradually grew quieter, until it was barely audible at the end, and he said without any confidence at all.

"Oh~ so that's how 'good' it is~"

Li Miao laughed.

Gao Anyu became anxious, his face turning red as he said.

"Uncle Li, do not look down on me, I, I."

"Within ten years, I will definitely reach the Celestial Being realm! By then it will be five to five, no, four to six..."

"No, two to eight, I am the eight, the other Celestial Beings are the two!"

Speaking to this point, he carefully glanced at Cao Hanyan and lowered his voice.

"Not counting you, Brother Cao, you and I are four to six!"

"You are the four, I am the six!"

Cao Hanyan was between laughter and tears, thinking to himself, I thank you for not forgetting to compensate for me while you were bragging.

The smile on Li Miao's face became even more obvious. After laughing for a while, he also lowered his voice, imitating Gao Anyu's manner.

"Little Gao."

"Yes, you speak."

"I heard you say so firmly just now that you will definitely become a Celestial Being within ten years; how is it that you seem to have a Celestial Being's inheritance in your hands?"

Gao Anyu puffed out his chest.

"Of course I do!"

Cao Hanyan's face changed abruptly.

Li Miao, however, continued to ask with a smile.

"But how is it that I heard that the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander-in-Chief set a rule that, apart from 'Peak' sects, no one else in the Jianghu is allowed to have a Celestial Being's inheritance?"

"Can you secretly tell me, where did you get this Celestial Being's inheritance?"