Chapter 148: So Much Fun

The silver moon hung in the sky, beyond the outskirts of Jingcheng.

Zhang Chu, cloaked in a black cloak, dismounted from his horse outside a ruined temple.

The temple stood amid a vast grove of poplar trees, deserted and dimly lit, with only the faint, eerie rustling of wind through fallen leaves audible.

He Can walked behind and, seeing this clearly ominous place, frowned and said:

"Are you planning to dispose of me? Executing a general mid-battle isn't a good omen…"

Zhang Chu, walking ahead, replied coldly:

"Scared?"

He Can wasn't a madman—he wasn't unafraid of death—but he wouldn't show it:

"I've been toyed with by you bastards so long, I'm already tired of living. The Mingshen Sect's reputation is huge, but now I see—you've got no real power. You leave Xie Jinhuan alone, yet always turn on your own people…"

"That's called 'I examine myself three times daily.' When trouble arises, no matter how sinister the enemy, can't we have our own flaws?"

?

He Can opened his mouth: "Alright, we've got a lineage now—dying, we've passed on our master's mantle."

His tone was light, but He Can kept scanning the surroundings, searching for an escape route.

But the temple seemed abandoned for over twenty years—inside, weeds grew wild, and traces of sword and knife marks still marred the stone and brick floors, though no one knew what had transpired here.

Zhang Chu led the way, reaching the main hall of the temple, then raised his hand in gesture:

"After you."

He Can stepped cautiously up the steps and peered inside.

He found the temple's main hall's roof shattered, spilling pale moonlight downward; atop the collapsed Buddha statue, fine, dense cracks were visible.

Before the statue stood a hunched old man wrapped in a black cloak, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, gazing upward at the hole in the ceiling.

Beside him stood a tall figure, one hand behind his back, motionless—neither could be seen clearly.

Seeing this, He Can relaxed and hurried forward:

"Oh my goodness~ You must be Second Master! Look at your presence, your aura—clearly a dark sect elder, far more substantial than my master."

The cane-bearing old man turned his head slightly and asked hoarsely:

"Zhang Chu brought you here—didn't he warn you?"

"That bastard's got a grudge against me—he just scares me…"

He Can stepped closer and noticed the attendant beside him wasn't hiding his face with black smoke—he immediately raised his hand to shield his eyes:

"Hey hey! I didn't see your face—you better cover it up. I know the rules: show your face, you get silenced."

"No need. You may look closely."

The figure beside him, at these words, lifted his cloak.

He Can glanced sideways cautiously—and saw the man's face was in his early twenties, his features oddly similar to his own…

"Huh?"

He Can frowned, stepped closer for a better look, even reached out to pinch the man's cheek—but the man dodged, leaving He Can puzzled:

"Second Master, who is this?"

The old man, cane in hand, stared at the collapsed Buddha statue and asked:

"Do you know why you're called He Can?"

He Can's eyes darted—he suddenly felt a chill, leaned in, and whispered:

"Am I the lost young master of the Mingshen Sect?"

"Ah~ You're thinking too much."

"..."

He Can fell silent.

The old man raised his cane and gestured to the temple hall:

"'Can' means 'three.' There are several interpretations—you can take it as three brothers.

"Twenty years ago, you and your two brothers were hunted down and hid in this temple. Among your pursuers was your master, Tai Shu Dan—he was then a disciple of the Corpse Witch Sect, hired by the rebel forces of the Second Imperial Prince.

"The situation was dire. The guards couldn't save everyone—they could only carry away the two with better cultivation potential. Your potential was too weak, so you were left behind as expendable.

"But unexpectedly, that dog Tai Shu Dan truly played both sides—he saw your potential and secretly hid you away, defying his orders…"

Here, the old man raised his dragon-headed cane and pressed it against He Can's forehead.

Black-red mist spiraled up the cane and seeped into his skin.

Instantly, black scales, like snake scales, faintly emerged on He Can's forehead; his eyes turned vertical pupils for a moment, then returned to normal.

He Can, bewildered, wiped his forehead:

"What kind of sorcery is Second Master performing?"

The old man lowered his cane:

"Tai Shu Dan said he implanted 'Yan Huang Jia' in you since childhood—it protects you in battle, impervious to blades and spears. But given Tai Shu Dan's nature, how could he possibly keep such a life-saving treasure for his disciple instead of using it himself?

"It's something you were born with. Had Tai Shu Dan not been driven to the edge and turned to demon cultivation, and had you not survived Xie Jinhuan's two killing blows and crawled out of Huaijiang Bay, I'd never have known you were still alive."

He Can analyzed these words carefully, then frowned:

"Second Master, are you saying I'm your son?"

"No. Just some distant connection."

"Oh… so I'm a gifted prodigy in cultivation?"

"No. You're a waste—that's why you were abandoned."

"?"

He Can took a slow breath and spread his hands:

"Second Young Master, if you all treat people this way for fun, then just kill me outright. A gentleman may be killed but not humiliated; at least I'm smarter than that fellow outside, right?"

Second Young Master took a stack of silver notes from his robe and handed them to He Shen:

"The situation in the world today is unstable; one slight misstep could mean the extinction of our entire clan."

"Your bone structure is mediocre, your talent average, indecisive if you turn to the demonic path, and cowardly if you choose the righteous one. You are only fit to be a commoner. Since there is some connection between us, take this severance pay, find a place to hide, and live out the rest of your life properly."

He Shen felt this time they were truly letting him go; after thinking for a moment, he said:

"Then may I abandon darkness and join the light?"

"The demonic path already despises you as useless; how could the righteous path possibly tolerate you?"

That's not necessarily true...

He Shen took the silver notes and counted them:

"If you send a Buddha all the way to the West, why not give me a magical artifact too, Second Young Master? If I go out unarmed, I'm afraid I won't live long."

"Zhang Chu will protect your safety until you are settled."

"With his cowardly nature, protect my safety? Can I just leave on my own?"

"You must surrender to the imperial court the moment you step out the door, and confess everything you know. Tai Shu Dan's style of conduct, sigh... speaks for itself!"

"..."

He Shen opened his mouth but ultimately had nothing to say; he turned to look at the young man standing nearby, patted his shoulder, and said:

"You're my brother, right? Our first meeting is also our last; what a pity. But since you will be buried in the Qian Emperor's mausoleum, it counts as a grand funeral. I'll burn more paper money for you later."

The young man showed no anger, simply raising his hand to gesture toward the door:

"My name is He Hai. Don't burn the wrong person."

"He Hai... Hai belongs to the Pig; are you a wild boar spirit?"

"Whatever you are, that's what I am."

"Heh~ Your mouth is quite sharp..."

He Shen patted the shoulder again, walked a few steps, turned back once more, looked at the dilapidated Buddha hall, and then promptly ran away...

——

The next day.

The sky was fully bright, and pedestrians in the county town gradually increased.

At the Yunling Wharf along the Huai River, ferries arrived occasionally; martial artists from all directions moved about the dock, and shouts could be heard from the street corners:

"Buns..."

"Candied hawthorns..."

Xie Jinhuan walked along the old street of the wharf, a bamboo hat covering half his face, a scarf around his neck shielding him from wind and sand, revealing only a pair of eyes like cold springs as he observed the passersby.

Nangong Ye wore a black skirt, her veil and thin gauze concealing her Bingshan-like face; walking beside Xie Jinhuan, the two remained silent. Just by their appearance, one could tell they were a ruthless, few-worded martial arts couple, so much so that even idle loafers passing by instinctively gave them a wide berth.

After wandering like this for a long time, Xie Jinhuan glanced toward the black carriage beside him and asked:

"Are we just going to keep wandering aimlessly like this?"

"..."

Nangong Ye, like a mute bride, turned her veil toward the other side of the street, clearly unwilling to respond.

Xie Jinhuan understood this; yesterday afternoon at the inn, after being pinned down and scratched, all his various strange medicines had been confiscated.

Muyun Hong was suffering from Yang Poison, having an episode from time to time; she had just taken some medicine and was currently in a 'soft girl' state, so she certainly wouldn't talk to him.

Although being pinned down and beaten by the big sister was somewhat humiliating, there was a tiny, inexplicable excitement within the humiliation; thus, he learned no lesson, thought for a moment, and said again:

"At least give me the antidote? With my current appearance, if I really encounter demonic bandits, how unimpressive would it look to fight?"

Nangong Ye slightly turned her veil; although her face couldn't be seen, the meaning was probably—Isn't your voice perfectly normal?

Xie Jinhuan had only taken a tiny bit of the Yin-Yang Sarcastic Powder yesterday and recovered in ten minutes, but the 'Always Smiling Powder' he was force-fed could last a whole day; he now pulled down his scarf, and beneath his cold-spring eyes was a sunny smile revealing eight teeth!

(⊙⊙)

Paired with his handsome face, it created quite an arrogant aura of 'Those who offend Great Qian, I shall strike and break them!'

??

Nangong Ye took a deep breath, causing her robe to swell, obviously holding back laughter.

The Always Smiling Powder had no harmful effects; on the contrary, it could make people feel cheerful.

Moreover, Xie Jinhuan was lawless and kept teasing her; she could not easily forgive him.

Therefore, Nangong Ye merely let out a faint 'Hmph~', realized the sound was inappropriate, and quickly walked ahead.

Hearing the soft, weak 'Hmph', Xie Jinhuan found it truly amusing; he pulled his scarf back up, resumed his cold-assassin disguise, and followed behind, chattering nonsense in an attempt to pry open the Seeing Bing Tuozi's small mouth and provide her with emotional value.

Nangong Ye could see that this fellow was very pleased with her speaking softly; therefore, she absolutely would not satisfy this fellow's strange fetish. She remained silent, searching for clues on her own.

After such a tug-of-war for a while, the two arrived at the riverside wharf; over a hundred large and small ships were docked at the port, mostly merchant vessels making temporary stops on their way to the capital.

Nangong Ye scrutinized the scene carefully and had not yet discovered anything suspicious when the 'Sunny and Cheerful Xie Shaoxia' beside her suddenly narrowed his gaze, looking toward a merchant ship in a quiet corner of the port, and slightly raised his hand to signal her to be discreet.

?

Nangong Ye detected no anomaly; her red lips moved, but it wasn't easy to speak, so she decided to wait for this fellow to open up voluntarily.

But after waiting for a moment, Xie Jinhuan gave no explanation; he simply moved over silently.

Nangong Ye, fearing to startle the snake, could only walk ahead and asked in a very low voice:

"That ship~ ahem~ has a problem~?"

Her delicate throat was melodious, not at all pretentious, carrying only a tenderness capable of triggering a man's desire to protect.

So fun!!

Xie Jinhuan heard the soft, cute loli voice, his corners of the mouth stretched straight to his ears, transforming into Venom:

"Sorry, I misread the situation."

"?"

You are simply...

Nangong Ye realized she had been tricked, and murderous intent instantly surged in her phoenix eyes!

But this rascal was strange; she felt that even if she rode on his head to humiliate him, he wouldn't get angry, but would only get more energetic. For this reason, she took out a small cloth bundle with her left hand and rummaged for a small medicine bottle to punish this boy:

"Like glue and lacquer... pfft pfft pfft..."

"Great Wife's Authority Pill? What the hell is that..."

"Full-and-Bored Pill!"

This pill is a potent 'Qi-Nourishing Pill' that greatly increases the speed of Qi Condensation. Consuming one during a battle of attrition can extend endurance, but once the consumption stops, the Qi Sea quickly fills up. With nowhere for the medicinal properties to dissipate, one will keep hiccuping endlessly. Old Zhang from the Medicine Hospital tested it on himself and hiccuped for several days...

Nangong Ye held the medicine bottle, hesitating whether to feed this boy a pill, when she noticed Xie Jinhuan beside her frowning again, looking toward a warehouse near the port.

Nangong Ye's movement paused slightly, her eyes cold as frost. She wanted to speak but feared being tricked again, so she observed first.

The result showed several carriages parked outside the warehouse, with several figures moving goods from inside. Judging by the shape of the goods, they were all wine jars, wooden crates, and such items.

Judging by their movements, these people all had some martial arts foundation; working as porters moving cargo at the dock was indeed somewhat abnormal.

"These people might be minions of the Mingshen Sect~..."

Just as she was speaking, she noticed the young hero beside her shoulders twitching lightly again, and her eyes naturally grew cold:

"Are you laughing~?"

Xie Jinhuan shook his head and said solemnly:

"I'm not laughing at you; I've taken Chinese medicine. Serious matters come first."

"..."

After taking a few deep breaths, Nangong Ye stopped paying attention to this rascal and continued observing the situation...

——

One update today. I will finish writing the small plot below as soon as possible and then make up for it. It really cannot be finished in one day; I am truly sorry or2!

(End of this chapter)