Chapter 50: Yandang Sect

Wu Chengyu was greatly surprised upon hearing this. He looked back and couldn't help but smile wryly. Here he was trying every method to cover it up, yet this young lady ended up exposing herself.

The key was that people who didn't know the truth would actually think he had walked away on his own, exposing the girl's position—it was truly a grievous injustice.

The girl reacted fairly quickly; she fired several plum-blossom darts from under the carriage toward the direction of the Head Constable, then a flash of red rolled out from the other side of the carriage compartment and charged straight into the crowd watching the commotion.

One of the plum-blossom darts flew straight at Wu Chengyu, but fortunately the force was insufficient and Wu Chengyu easily dodged it. Now Wu Chengyu was embarrassed, knowing this girl had definitely misunderstood.

The constables were thrown into disarray by the plum-blossom darts, and a few slow ones were hit on the spot. Only when the Head Constable gave the order did they swarm forward.

At this moment the woman hastily glanced back at Wu Chengyu and shouted, "You brat, daring to ruin my business, this lady hero remembers you." As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished from the crowd with a few flashes, her lightness skill being extremely superb.

Instead, the constables collided with the crowd, the scene was in utter chaos, and how could they possibly catch up.

With Wu Chengyu's eyesight, he naturally saw the woman's appearance clearly: a doll-like face, fresh and lovely, not quite a peerless beauty, but in temperament more like a lovely young lady from a respectable family, only her eyes were bright, slightly carrying a murderous aura. In short, she didn't quite match Wu Chengyu's aesthetic.

He heard the harsh words the woman left behind, and while embarrassed he scratched his head, at the same time seeing Lu Dage and the others' mocking gazes.

"I say I was just trying to help her earlier, do you believe me?" Wu Chengyu at this moment truly felt he was a wronged soul.

Lu Dage also shook his head and smiled wryly. If not for having shared life-and-death experiences together and trusting Wu Chengyu immensely, they might have thought Wu Chengyu had deliberately harmed someone just now.

"Alright, we can't help with what comes next. Taking advantage of the fact that no one is guarding the city gate now, let's go. That girl looks fairly clever, and her lightness skill just now was extraordinary; those few constables probably can't catch her."

Wu Chengyu could only swallow the bitter fruit of good intentions gone wrong. Indeed, he was powerless next. He held A Ku and remounted the carriage, leaving this place that made him so embarrassed.

The group soon walked onto the official road, still a dirt road full of potholes everywhere. Wu Chengyu's new carriage seemed to have slightly better shock absorption, and the feeling along this road was much better than before. At least A Ku didn't vomit this time.

From Qingyuan Prefecture to Shaoxing was over two hundred li, and the carriage and horses would take at least two days. They must stay overnight on the road tonight.

However, this time it was finally not a broken temple. Wu Chengyu feared another broken temple nightmare.

According to Yu Xiaowu's account, there was a post station halfway along the journey, exclusively for imperial court officials and soldiers, originally not receiving ordinary travelers passing by. However, the steward of the post station had opened a very large inn beside the post station, specifically for passing travelers to dine, with decent conditions, and usually considered safe.

By the time it was the Xu hour, Wu Chengyu's group finally arrived at the inn. The place was surprisingly large, with the courtyard alone covering several hundred square units. Behind the courtyard was a row of two-story buildings, and two rows of civilian houses. By the time Wu Chengyu and the others entered, many people had already gathered in the courtyard, with bright lights and noisy voices.

The waiter at the inn recognized Lu Zhiyi at a glance and hurried forward to bow: "Sir, you've finished your business and are returning. The upper rooms in the inn are prepared for you. You're tired from the journey; Sir and your companions should eat some food first. Tonight I'll bring hot water to your rooms for you to soak your feet well."

Lu Zhiyi sized up the people in the large courtyard while casually tossing some broken silver to the waiter. The waiter's eyes lit up and he immediately stuffed it into his sleeve. Obviously, the more generous Lu Zhiyi was, the more enthusiastic and attentive the waiter became.

"There are quite a few guests in the inn today. We need two people per room, at least six upper rooms. Is that enough?"

"Enough, absolutely enough, Sir. Don't look at how many of these people there are—they're all poor beggars. Not many can even afford the large common hall. Most people will stay overnight in this large courtyard tonight, and most bring their own dry rations. They complain even at five copper coins per person; I don't even bother with them."

"Have you inquired where they're from? Why did such a crowd suddenly come here?"

"No need to inquire. Most are small vendors peddling through streets and alleys, and some who run small food stalls. The farthest are from Yandang Mountain. It's just that they heard there's an annual grand temple fair in Shaoxing, and these poor beggars all want to make some money at the temple fair. They come like this every year."

Yu Xiaowu beside him also interjected: "That's right. It starts the day after tomorrow and lasts ten days straight. My restaurant also harvests quite a lot every year because of this temple fair."

Lu Zhiyi nodded. From the people in the courtyard he saw some clues, but now was not a good time to speak. After everyone settled their rooms, they came together to sit at the southeast corner of the large courtyard. The waiter immediately brought several sets of bowls and chopsticks and a large basin of soup noodles.

"Honored guests, our shop is simple, with no fine wine or dishes. But our shop's soup noodles are famous. The soup is simmered daily with sheep bones and sheep trotters. A bowl of hot soup noodles down your belly, and I guarantee all your fatigue will be gone. Eat heartily; there's more if it's not enough."

Lu Zhiyi sent the waiter away, called everyone to eat, and at the same time lowered his voice to say:

"Everyone be more alert when sleeping tonight. In my opinion, these small vendors should all be from the Yandang Sect?"

"Yandang Sect? Old Lu, tell us in detail. I usually don't pay much attention to these martial world factions."

"The Yandang Sect is actually a martial world sect composed of small vendors, peddlers, and shopkeepers who run around the martial world. Calling it a sect, it's more like a merchant guild—everyone huddles together for warmth. There are no true masters. Usually they focus on business and value harmony for profit.

This sect has never had any evil deeds. The reason to be careful is also because this sect is ultimately part of the martial world, with good and bad mixed together, so there are inevitably some villains."

As soon as he finished speaking, Niu Dajie immediately lost interest. She opened her mouth wide and shoved half a bowl of noodles into her mouth. Wu Chengyu, on the other hand, looked at the courtyard two more times.

Lu Zhiyi saw Wu Chengyu and thought the child was interested in the martial world, so he said a few more words.

"It's said that the former master of the Yandang Sect suddenly passed away a few months ago, leaving no will. As a result, his subordinates fought endlessly, and to this day they still haven't chosen a new master."

"Now there's a temple fair where they can earn some silver taels. These people don't even bother choosing a master anymore—they've run out to attend the temple fair first. It can be considered a strange sight in the martial world."

Wu Chengyu nodded and said no more. The reason he had looked at the Yandang Sect disciples two more times was that he thought of He Sanqi, the wonton seller in *Smiling Proud Wanderer*, who was from Yandang Mountain, presumably a descendant of the Yandang Sect. Most of the lineages in Jin Daxia's novels were inherited from one another. Taking this as evidence, there was too much to be excavated in this world.

At this moment Wu Chengyu's brow twitched. He seemed to want to laugh, but also seemed to be at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He was too embarrassed to speak, so he could only remain silent.

When night fell, the inn gradually quieted down. Apart from Niu Dajie's snoring from the next room, the entire inn was peaceful and serene.

Wu Chengyu lay on the bed with his hands as a pillow. He first cultivated the Bi Lang Heart Method for a while, then practiced the Gui Sun Method. He had only recently obtained this art and couldn't yet breathe according to the Gui Sun Method's requirements at all times, let alone continue cultivating the Gui Sun Method in his sleep.

Once this art was mastered, it would benefit one for a lifetime, but getting started was much harder than other arts.

Soon an hour passed, and Wu Chengyu was already nodding off. At this moment he smelled that familiar fragrance again.

These two chapters are still bonus chapters for everyone's monthly votes, and also because everyone felt the two morning updates were too thin, so I'm trying my best to compensate.

I still need to mention Lord Wang, the Nine Gates Commander. He cast his monthly vote just after midnight last night, which disappointed him. I hope to regain recognition.

However, my backlog of chapters is really not much. A pile of new furniture was just delivered, and next I have to assemble the furniture.

The chapters changed today mean that the backlog for the next several chapters all need to be changed. I hope I can finish by tonight.

Thank you again for everyone's urging and support.

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(Chapter End)