Chapter 56

"Honest, that kid Chu? He's not honest at all! The Young Master accompanies flowers and loses beauty, the Bandit Chief treads the moon and leaves fragrance. Heh, that kid is quite the ladies' man~!"

Huang Yaoshi shook his head with a scoffing laugh, then suddenly thought of his precious daughter—his brow furrowed.

He then relaxed it at once and said, "Still, this kid really does take after me; there's a roguish air about him."

Jiang Sishui, hearing this, was displeased: "If only I'd been born a few decades earlier, then it would be the senior taking after me!"

Huang Yaoshi, hearing this, was not annoyed in the slightest; on the contrary, he liked it all the more, and said to Zhao Tianhao: "Brother Zhao, he's your employer, isn't he?"

In his good mood, even the form of address had changed.

Zhao Tianhao and Huang Yaoshi had originally only met a handful of times; the two of them couldn't be said to have any deep friendship, so their address was rather polite.

But since Huang Yaoshi had changed his form of address, naturally he couldn't remain unchanged either: "Young people are inevitably hot-tempered; it is best for Brother Yao not to take it to heart."

Huang Yaoshi, however, suddenly pulled a long face again and asked, "What if I insist on taking it to heart? Would Brother Zhao come to blows with me?"

Zhao Tianhao saw that Huang Yaoshi's change of expression came without any warning at all, truly as unpredictable in his moods as the rumors said, impossible to read his true inner thoughts, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.

Zhao Tianhao had never crossed hands with Huang Yaoshi and didn't know how strong this Taohuadao master was, but when the other man darkened his face, he instinctively felt a pressure.

That was a kind of intuition he had developed over many years of roaming the jianghu.

This Taohuadao master was definitely a formidable foe!

But though Zhao Tianhao was startled, he was not afraid, and said without the slightest hesitation: "The foundation of the Central Plains Escort Agency lies in keeping one's word."

Huang Yaoshi smiled.

He turned his head to look at Jiang Sishui: "Kid, you have a good eye; the backer you've found is reliable enough."

Jiang Sishui shook his head: "It's not that I have a good eye and found the right person, but rather that the Central Plains Escort Agency's reputation is well-deserved, and that attracted me."

Zhao Tianhao up ahead, hearing this, couldn't help but show a smile on his face, and felt a bit of pride in his heart.

These words were clearly the best affirmation of the Central Plains Escort Agency.

Nor had all his painstaking efforts over so many years been in vain.

Huang Yaoshi nodded, did not refute, and asked again: "Kid, what's your name?"

"Jiang Sishui."

"Kid Jiang, I see you don't understand martial arts; how about I teach you a skill?"

"Good!"

"You agreed that readily? Aren't you going to ask me why I'm teaching you martial arts out of the blue?"

"Your Lady just said that I resemble you, senior; I suppose it is because you find me pleasing to the eye."

"Haha! Good kid, sharp enough! Listen well, my Taohuadao martial arts are numerous; there's the Jade Wave Palm Technique, the Orchid Touching Acupuncture Points Hand…"

"Flicking Finger Divine Power!" Jiang Sishui suddenly spoke up and interrupted.

"What?" Huang Yaoshi was taken aback.

Jiang Sishui said frankly: "I have long heard of your name, senior, and I have heard that your signature skill is the 'Flicking Finger Divine Power.' Since you are willing to teach me, of course I want to learn the most powerful one."

Huang Yaoshi couldn't help laughing: "Kid Jiang, you're really quite unabashed."

"When there's an opportunity, one must seize it; in my life I dislike most the three-times-declined-and-five-times-yielded, putting on airs."

"Haha! Not bad! Not bad! You're suiting my tastes more and more, kid. However… unfortunately, I can't teach you this one."

"Why?"

"Because 'Flicking Finger Divine Power' requires powerful internal energy to drive it, and the cultivation difficulty is extremely high; it's not suitable for a beginner."

"I see; then once I have cultivated sufficiently profound internal energy in the future, I will come and ask the senior for guidance."

Cultivate profound internal energy and then come learn "Flicking Finger Divine Power"?

Huang Yaoshi raised an eyebrow and thought to himself: "This kid really is a newborn calf unafraid of the tiger, thinking that learning martial arts and cultivating skill is as simple as reading the Four Books and Five Classics, something that can be mastered in a short time? By the time you've actually learned something and come find me, won't it be more than ten years from now?"

But Zhang Zui, Huang Yaoshi ultimately did not say these things out loud.

Partly because he was too lazy to explain, and partly because he didn't want to dampen Jiang Sishui's enthusiasm.

In any case, this was Jiang Sishui's own choice; if he missed out, that was his fate.

He shifted the topic: "Kid Jiang, are you heading to Leigu Mountain?"

"That's right."

"You're not a jianghu person, yet you want to meddle in jianghu affairs; but I don't see you as someone muddled in the head either… hmm? Could it be that you consider yourself capable of solving the 'Zhenlongqi Society'?"

"I cannot solve it. My purpose in this trip is to visit an old senior."

"I see."

Hearing this much, Huang Yaoshi did not press further.

A brief silence.

Just as Jiang Sishui was mulling over how to steer the conversation toward Huang Rong without seeming to, he suddenly saw a huge crowd gathered up ahead, with shouts rising in waves.

"Oh? Looks like there's some excitement to watch."

Huang Yaoshi flicked the reins, and the carriage sped forward.

Zhao Tianhao deliberated for a moment, intending to go around.

?? Please request flowers??????

Having roamed the jianghu for many years, he knew well that some excitements were not to be joined; once caught up in them, he himself might become the next "excitement."

And the most important thing right now was to protect Jiang Sishui's safety.

At this moment Jiang Sishui suddenly said: "Uncle Zhao, why don't we go over and take a look, see how lively this 'Zhenlongqi Society' is."

"We're traveling with Island Master Huang; I don't suppose any unseeing fool would come looking for trouble."

Uncle Zhao?

Hearing Jiang Sishui's new form of address for him, Zhao Tianhao cast a deep look at his eldest daughter in the carriage, of whom only half a figure was visible.

After a brief deliberation, Zhao Tianhao nodded: "Good."

Zhao Qiying looked at Jiang Sishui with a knowing look and said, "What happened today that you actually feel like joining the crowd? This doesn't seem like you."

"As the saying goes: 'One glimpse reveals the whole leopard.' It's so lively over there—let's go take a look first and see how many experts have come to Leigu Mountain, so we have some idea."

Jiang Sishui put on a solemn, matter-of-fact look, but in truth was a bit guilty.

Could he possibly say that he had followed Huang Yaoshi because he wanted to inquire about news of Huang Rong?

Huang Yaoshi had come to attend the "Zhenlongqi Society"—such a lively event—and yet, given Huang Rong's playful nature, she had surprisingly not come along.

So could it be that, just like in the original, she had already run away from home?

Thinking of this, Jiang Sishui grew anxious, afraid she might have already taken a liking to someone else.

As the distance closed, the shouts gradually became clear.

"Bohu! Hang in there! Stab this old monster full of a hundred and eighty see-through holes!"

"Who would have thought Bohu's martial skill was actually this outstanding—truly 'one cannot judge a person by their looks, nor the sea by its measure.'"

"Exactly! From now on, whoever dares to say the Four Talents of Suzhou are pewter spearheads with a silver gloss, let Bohu stab them once and see!"

Then from another side, voices rose—

"The Star Elder Immortal, his divine power knows no bounds! This brat has already been struck by the Elder's Immortal Arts!"

"That's right. Don't be fooled by how lively this kid looks now—in another hour or so, his whole body will rot into pus and blood and he'll be dead."

"If you kneel and beg for mercy now, and admit your mistake to the Elder, there's still time."

"Tang the Tiger, why don't you quickly take refuge with the Elder—what are you waiting for!"

"What tiger? That's a sick cat! To others he may be a tiger, but in the Elder's hands, he's nothing but a sick cat!"

"Hahaha, well said, well said!"

Inside the carriage, Jiang Sishui's eyes lit up.

Suzhou talent Tang Bohu? Star Elder monster Ding Chunqiu?

How did these two end up fighting?

Jiang Sishui was immediately intrigued.

061 Four Talents? More like Four Ruffians!

"Sick cat my ass—go die!"

Tang Bohu, already locked in fierce combat, was wary of Ding Chunqiu's Poison Art and had been at a disadvantage; being heckled by a group of Xingxiu Sect disciples only made him more flustered and irritable.

A fierce thrust of his spear forced back one of Ding Chunqiu's palms. Tang Bohu leapt backward, raised his left thumb, then turned his palm and slammed it down onto the ground!

"Mountain-Piercing Strike!"

The palm struck through the air, and a winding silver light like an electric arc snaked rapidly across the ground, completely ignoring Ding Chunqiu in the middle, blasting the noisy disciples behind him sky-high.