Chapter 97: Repaying Debts

Yong Jie sighed: "Master knows, but many in the temple are blocking it."

"This monk also snuck out."

"I thought as much," Li Miao said.

A moment later, footsteps were heard outside the door.

A man walked in with a middle-aged woman and made introductions.

This middle-aged woman was none other than Song Yanchao's daughter and the man's wife. She should be addressed as Mrs. Liu Song now.

After entering and offering a bow, Mrs. Liu Song first glanced at Li Miao.

Although Li Miao was only there to watch the show, he had spent twenty years in Shuntian Prefecture; that aura of being accustomed to commanding others was impossible to hide, no matter how he tried.

As for Yong Jie, with his burly frame and fleshy face, he looked more like Li Miao's attendant or bodyguard.

It wasn't until the man whispered a few words that Mrs. Liu Song realized who the real master was.

Yet, when Mrs. Liu Song looked at Yong Jie, she froze for a moment.

After a long while, she spoke weakly: "Great Master... have we met before?"

"Yes, it has been many years."

Yong Jie stood up and walked toward Mrs. Liu Song.

He was already tall and burly with a fleshy face; now, with an expressionless look, he was even more intimidating.

Mrs. Liu Song knew no Wu Gong; terrified, she turned pale and had to grab her husband's arm to keep her composure.

Yong Jie walked up to Mrs. Liu Song and bowed deeply.

"Long time no see."

"This debt, I have owed for over ten years; today, it is only right to repay it to you, Madam."

Hearing the words "Long time no see," Mrs. Liu Song turned pale, her voice trembling.

"You... who exactly are you..."

"Before I became a monk, my secular name was Tu Qingcang."

"Ah!"

Mrs. Liu Song let out a cry of shock and recoiled violently.

"It's, it's you!"

Her husband had already sensed something was wrong with his wife; now, he didn't hesitate, shielding her behind him and drawing a short blade from his waist.

"Sir, stop!"

"When a person dies, the debt is cleared; grievances should not extend to wives and children!"

"No matter what grudge you had with my father-in-law, he is already dead. My wife and I have never stepped into the affairs of the Jianghu; we are just commoners living in this city!"

"Do not break the rules of the Jianghu!"

Clearly, the couple mistook Yong Jie for someone coming to settle a blood feud.

Yong Jie did not answer; after straightening up, he walked toward the couple on his own.

"Don't come any closer!"

"Don't come closer! My Song family never provoked you! You were the one who won back then!"

Mrs. Liu Song kept retreating, but stumbling as she was, how could she outpace Yong Jie's stride?

The distance between them grew shorter and shorter.

Mrs. Liu Song was too terrified to speak, so her husband managed to say: "Sir, stop! Do not force me!"

Yong Jie turned a deaf ear, and in the blink of an eye, he was right before them.

Her husband gritted his teeth and slashed his blade at Yong Jie.

The blade struck Yong Jie's right arm.

Instantly, blood gushed out.

This man's Wu Gong couldn't even be considered to have "entered the hall." Any third-rate expert in the Jianghu could have easily disarmed him of that short blade.

Yet Yong Jie was a top-tier expert on par with Liu Baiyun.

He didn't even need to use any hard-body techniques; as long as he circulated his Qi, this blade wouldn't have been able to hurt him.

Yong Jie had voluntarily suppressed his true energy and relaxed his muscles and bones.

The blade sank an inch into his flesh, severing his tendons.

Li Miao said nothing.

He had seen this scene many times.

Yong Jie's body was covered in scars, all self-inflicted in this manner.

Blood now sprayed wildly, dripping down his sleeve and pooling into a puddle on the floor.

Mrs. Liu Song had never seen such a sight; she turned pale and fainted.

Her husband hurriedly caught her and turned to look at Yong Jie: "You, you..."

He couldn't make sense of the situation.

Although his Wu Gong was poor, he was Song Yanchao's son-in-law and had seen much; he could tell Yong Jie's Wu Gong far surpassed his own.

He couldn't understand why this man would stand there and let himself be hacked.

Seeing Mrs. Liu Song faint, Yong Jie managed a faint smile.

"I will stay in Baoqing Prefecture for three days. If Mrs. Song wishes to find me after she wakes up, I will be staying at the local inn."

With that, he turned to Li Miao: "Benefactor, may I beg for a favor?"

Li Miao reached into his robes, took out an ingot of silver, and tossed it over.

But Yong Jie couldn't catch it.

His left hand was hanging in a sling, and his right tendons were severed. A dignified Shaolin disciple was reduced to watching helplessly as the silver ingot fell to the ground.

"Oh, I forgot."

Fortunately, Li Miao realized.

He pointed into the air, and a faint thread of true energy flew out, striking the silver ingot.

The ingot landed right in the arms of Mrs. Liu Song's husband.

"Alright, let's go."

Li Miao stood up, walked to Yong Jie's side, and tapped a point to stop his bleeding.

Yong Jie managed a "Thank you" to Li Miao.

The two left the house and headed toward the inn where they were staying.

As they walked, Li Miao asked: "What is the grudge between you and this family, Great Master?"

Yong Jie had lost too much blood and his mind was growing hazy, but he took the initiative to speak to keep his spirits up: "Back then, when my martial arts first matured, I traveled to the Huguang region."

"It was called traveling, but in reality, I was just looking for fights everywhere."

"It's just that I was too young then and had no reputation in the Jianghu. Often, when I showed up at someone's door, I was rejected; sometimes, I couldn't even get through the gate."

Challenging others in the Jianghu isn't as simple as "meeting friends through martial arts."

So-called sects and factions are essentially organizations that stand on the foundation of Wu Gong.

And for Wu Gong to be converted into value, one often has to use certain means to turn it into "reputation," and only then can it be turned into land, money, and manpower.

Martial challenges are one such means; victory or defeat changes many things.

Therefore, the vast majority of "meeting friends through martial arts" is actually decided before it even begins.

People like Yong Jie back then were the kind of challengers no one in the Jianghu wanted to face.

Young, unknown, and highly skilled. Winning brought no benefits, while losing meant total ruin.

It was only natural that no one wanted to fight him.

"I was ignorant then; I only thought they were weaklings seeking fame."

"I was desperate for fame; I couldn't wait for their seniority rankings. My Wu Gong was higher than theirs, so I felt I should be more famous than them."

"So, I started going door-to-door to challenge them."

"Doing this broke the rules. Those who lost started spreading rumors about me in the Jianghu, saying I was a villain who used underhanded tactics."

"I was resentful, so I started striking harder and harder. I even began attacking those who had nothing to do with the matter."

Yong Jie let out a long sigh.

"When I came to Baoqing Prefecture back then, naturally, the first person I chose was Song Daxia Yanchao."

"I won, and I broke his right arm."

"Oh, I see, so you want to repay his daughter with an arm," Li Miao said.

"Yes," Yong Jie nodded.

"Hero Song's famous martial arts was the 'Three Emperors Cannon Punch.' With his right arm broken, his martial arts weakened by at least thirty or forty percent. The decline of the Huiyou Escort Agency was largely my fault."

"He was a good man; I shouldn't have done that."

"If a debt is owed, it must be repaid."

(End of chapter)