Chapter 62

The girl's big eyes rolled around, merriment laced with a hint of mischief.

In fact, Chu Liuxiang did indeed have a connection with Taohuadao.

And this had to start with his master, the Night Emperor.

The Night Emperor was bold and uninhibited, brimming with talent—skilled in every pursuit of qin, qi, shu, and hua—and once chanced upon Huang Yaoshi; the two took to each other as kindred spirits.

When Chu Liuxiang was young, he had spent a period learning martial arts from the Night Emperor and had followed him to Taohuadao several times.

So Huang Rong had met Chu Liuxiang ten years ago.

However, the two had not met often, and Huang Rong was still a young girl whose heart had yet to awaken to love, so she harbored no romantic feelings for Chu Liuxiang.

3.7 Her father Huang Yaoshi, on the other hand, rather took a shine to Chu Liuxiang and had once thought, once Huang Rong grew up, to play matchmaker for the two.

But in the end, he still dismissed the idea.

For no other reason than that he had learned of Chu Liuxiang's deeds in the jianghu and come to know Chu Liuxiang's greatest flaw—

He was too much of a rake!

He stole women's hearts, stealing wherever he went, yet never lingering for any single woman.

He was a wanderer, drifting from place to place, content with whatever came his way.

And a wanderer was never a good match for building a family.

Huang Yaoshi did not mind Chu Liuxiang being fickle, but he would not allow Chu Liuxiang to steal Huang Rong's heart and then saunter off in his own carefree way, leaving Huang Rong alone in sorrow.

So although Huang Yaoshi admired Chu Liuxiang in other respects, he still whispered plenty of unkind words about him into Huang Rong's ear.

Prevention before the fact, after all!.

067 No protagonist's halo? Then don't try to play the saint

The reason Huang Rong was not by her parents' side today was that she had run into Chu Liuxiang.

Huang Rong had long known Chu Liuxiang's lightness skill was superb—he had even escaped from a Celestial Being—and, thinking Jiang Sishui was presently lacking martial arts, she planned to trick Chu Liuxiang's "Flying Spirit Soaring Art" out of him.

Although she had yet to meet Jiang Sishui and had not decided whether to go with him, it never hurt to be prepared!

If she and Jiang Sishui took a liking to each other, she intended to pass the "Flying Spirit Soaring Art" to her lover.

After some effort, Chu Liuxiang finally agreed.

However, what he gave Huang Rong was not the ancestral "Flying Spirit Soaring Art," but his self-created "Treading the Moon, Leaving Fragrance."

Seeing the two were about the same, Huang Rong didn't mind.

And in exchange, Huang Rong agreed to personally cook a meal.

Going back and forth like this ate up quite a bit of time, causing her to miss Jiang Sishui.

But Jiang Sishui was right at Luoshan and couldn't run off; there'd be plenty of chances to meet tomorrow.

【I hope I'm just borrowing trouble—don't let me lose a Guo Jing only to gain a Chu Liuxiang】

【Later, I also ran into Tang Bohu and Ding Chunqiu fighting】

【Tang Bohu is a real historical figure from a past life, not fictional; it's just that people took him and gave him artistic embellishment, which is why there are so many film and TV portrayals】

【This Tang Bohu looks so familiar, and his martial arts are so high that he can go back and forth with Ding Chunqiu—seems like he's been fused with the background of the movie "Flirting Scholar"】

【Overlord Spear, Mountain-Busting Strike, Turtle Wave Qi Gong… all childhood memories】

【But right now he only has eight wives, so it looks like he hasn't yet sneaked into Grand Secretary Hua's mansion to flirt with Qiuxiang】

Suzhou, Grand Secretary Hua's mansion.

Qiuxiang held the diary copy, slightly stunned—she hadn't expected the "melon" to land on her own head.

"Flirting Scholar… I've married Tang Bohu? He already has eight wives at home?"

Tang Bohu was a famous scholar of Suzhou, so she had naturally heard of him, and was very fond of his paintings.

She hadn't expected that, in the film and TV dramas, she and he were even fated to be husband and wife.

For a maidservant like her, this outcome seemed pretty good too.

However…

Qiuxiang looked at the diary copy in her hands, her heart neither sorrowful nor joyful.

She was only a servant, always at others' beck and call, with no right to choose.

(Note: as for the movie version of Qiuxiang, I wonder if you all like her; if you do, she's the one; if not, I'll switch to the Qiuxiang from the TV drama "The Four Scholars," who comes with a twin sister Qiuyue)

【That old rascal Ding Chunqiu is a traitor of the Xiaoyao Sect; the reason Wu Wu Ya Zi was crippled was all thanks to his sneak attack that sent him tumbling off the cliff】

【Afterward, coveting the Xiaoyao Sect's martial arts, he coerced his senior brother Suxinghe】

【Suxinghe's intelligence had originally surpassed Ding Chunqiu's, but his heart wasn't focused—he squandered vast amounts of time and energy on qin, qi, shu, hua, medicine, and divination, and was no match for Ding Chunqiu】

【In desperation, he lied that all the Xiaoyao Sect's martial arts were hidden in the Xingxiu Sea】

【Ding Chunqiu took it as truth and rushed off to the Xingxiu Sea to search; he later founded the evil Xingxiu Sect, which specialized in poison, and gathered a bunch of disciples who beat drums and gongs and flattered him all day long】

【The thickness of his skin and the grandeur of his airs were matched by few in the jianghu】

【And Suxinghe, to avoid another attack by him, bore the humiliation of pretending to be deaf and mute, dismissed his original disciples, and founded the "Deaf-Mute Sect" to fool people's eyes and ears】

【Afterward, following his master's orders, Suxinghe set up the "Zhenlong Chess Game" at Luoshan, aiming to find an outstanding inheritor for Wu Wu Ya Zi—to inherit the position of Xiaoyao Sect's Paizhang while also rooting out the traitor】

【By this reckoning, Ding Chunqiu is someone I absolutely must kill—after all, what Wu Wu Ya Zi can give me is simply too much!】

"So Wu Wu Ya Zi is from the Xiaoyao Sect—no wonder he looked down on my Taohuadao's martial arts."

Huang Rong felt a sudden clarity in her heart.

At the same time, combined with the diary entries from the past few days, the secret behind this "Zhenlong Chess Game" had also completely surfaced.

……

"Xiaoyao Sect… carefree and unrestrained—truly, the name fits the reality."

Zhao Qiying couldn't help but recall the way Ding Chunqiu had fought—every move was free and elegant, like dancing, graceful in posture, quite unlike ordinary martial artists brawling for the sake of winning.

This left a deep impression on her.

Now it seems this is a sect tradition.

……

"Well, well, so Ding Laoguai himself is a traitor who deceives his master and destroys his ancestors. Looks like I've inherited his true teachings."

Excitement flickered in Ah Zhu's eyes: "He's already been targeted by the diary's owner—he's dead for sure! Hmph, at such an old age, he still dared to set his sights on this Miss. Got his comeuppance, didn't he?"

【Right, Ah Bi is also from the Xiaoyao Sect, and she's the fifth-generation eldest disciple-granddaughter of the Xiaoyao Sect】

【She just doesn't know it herself】

【Because although her Master Kang Guangling is Suxinghe's eldest disciple, in order to protect him and the other seven disciples from Ding Chunqiu's persecution, Suxinghe had no choice but to expel them from the Xiaoyao Sect】

【It can only be said that although the Xiaoyao Sect is a hidden-world sect, its influence throughout the book is everywhere】

"Ah, my Master is actually a member of the Xiaoyao Sect?"

Ah Bi was stunned for a moment, then blinked her innocent big eyes and said: "If Brother Jiang takes Senior Wu Wu Ya Zi as his Master, wouldn't that make him a generation above my Master? Wouldn't I have to call him Grand Master-Uncle?"

Wang Yuyan and Ah Zhu exchanged a glance and burst out laughing. The latter teased: "So what about Grand Master-Uncle? Once he becomes your Grand Master-Uncle, wouldn't you have a huge backer?"

A backer? What would I need a backer for?

Ah Bi's little face fell.

But she wasn't stupid either. She quickly recalled Jiang Sishui's disdain for the great taboo between master and disciple, and immediately set her mind at ease.

She shot a glare at Ah Zhu, didn't respond to her, and lowered her head to read the diary on her own.

【Tang Bohu and Ding Chunqiu's strength was originally on par, but one wrong move nearly got him killed on the spot】

【It shows that when martial artists fight, unless one side crushes the other with an absolute cultivation advantage, there are too many factors affecting life and death. One must never let one's guard down】

【At the critical moment, Shen Lang appeared and saved him】

【Turns out in this world, the Shen and Tang families are still hereditary friends for 257 generations】

【I didn't expect that I just mentioned Shen Lang yesterday, and today I see him in person】

【His Wu Gong is very high—Ding Chunqiu is absolutely no match for him. Not only can he not beat him, he can't even escape. In other words, Shen Lang can kill Ding Chunqiu】

【But this Shen Lang is the same as in the drama, a bit of a saint】

【In the drama, many people tried several times to kill Shen Lang, yet Shen Lang could let them go. Ding Chunqiu only made a move against Tang Bohu, and Tang Bohu was fine, so him not killing Ding Chunqiu is also within expectations】

【Tang Bohu seemed somewhat unwilling, but clearly couldn't say it outright】

【Huh? I notice that protagonists in Wu Xia Works are all quite saintly—you can hardly find a few who aren't. It's like you can't be a protagonist without being a saint】

【Thinking about it is kind of funny】

【Sure enough, the protagonist halo is awesome. If ordinary people learned from them, the grass on their graves would probably be three zhang tall by now】

"Being soft-hearted will make it hard to achieve greatness!"

Seeing Shen Lang make enemies yet not kill them, many women sneered disdainfully.

There are far too many underhanded tricks in this world to count. Being soft-hearted and being arrogantly overconfident are both great taboos when wandering the jianghu!