Book 18 Chapter 10

History repeats itself

-even useless ones

It was already a ritual for her, before she left the mountains to go somewhere else, to take a look around the same field where she had fallen into the arms of a man on that day twenty years ago. Standing there always reminded her of the past and made her think. Where am I? What path was he trying to walk? Can I walk that path? That's what I used to ask myself.

My reverent mood was shattered as soon as I got back to town.

Qin Xiaolong was puzzled. No, he was dumbfounded. He hadn't imagined that there would be anyone here with a distribution that would stand in his way. Could it be that his juniors had mismanaged the local fengqi while he was away? If so, he would have to go back and hold them strictly and thoroughly accountable.

"Hey, ma'am, do you have a minute?"

The man who seemed to be the leader of the five warriors surrounding Qin Shaolin strode over. His stiff posture and the most unsuccessful clichéd lines were enough to get him killed. If you think that line works, you're really looking at the world in the wrong way. Or maybe you were planning to use your strength in the first place!

"What is it, you guys?"

The voice that came out of Qin Xiaolong's mouth, like that of an ancient crane, was as cold as the snow on the north wind. Her gaze was uneven. Apparently, he wasn't just a brat. In the first place, this place was not a good soil for municipal bastards to grow in. No one would dare commit such a suicidal act as setting up shop within Ampha territory. Besides, they were far too colorfully dressed for tramps. They were dressed in cheap bodyguard robes and quite colorful silk robes, and their sleepy, frivolous-looking sabers were sheathed in broad, large swords.

"Ick, be scared!"

At her chilling demeanor, the warrior clad in the silk of the fivefold sulfur shrunk his shoulders in fear.

"Am I really not feeling anything?

That was it. There was no way a bunch of dumbasses who couldn't detect this level of life could be proper martial artists.

"Did I just block your path for no reason?"

Qin Shaolin's demeanor became even colder.

"Hehe, our master would like to see your wife."

The corner of the woman's right eye lifted slightly. History seemed to have a way of repeating itself. The woman had very bad memories of this sort of thing, and she had a near hatred for it.

"You guys aren't from here, are you?"

Qin Xiaoling asked in a cold voice.

"What?"

They must be devotees of the mottled flesh. Probably the minions of a foolish master. Perhaps the servants of an unknowing master of the world.

"Otherwise, how could I have dared to have the unseemly thought of lusting after women here in the shadow of Amishan?"

A silent code, darkly guarded within the realm of the Amifa, none of the natives of this place had the enlarged liver to violate it. None who knew how sharp Ami's sword was could do so.

"Don't worry, I'm not immature this time."

And then he said again.

"So you're not going to die!"

I didn't want to smear my sacred sword with the blood of scum who weren't worth killing.

"So, who's this guy?"

Master Huang pointed to an outfield off to one side of the road. A gaunt man was there. He was obviously a snob, believing that the fancy clothes and jewelry he wore could make up for the poor quality of his hangers. He even carried a colorful fan. His narcissism had reached epidemic proportions.

As Qin Xiaolong looked at him, suddenly the people around the little man began to back away, hesitantly, as if they knew who she was, until the area around him formed a wide semicircle and emptied out. The man didn't seem to understand why they were doing this.

Still, one of the more compassionate among them took pity on the man and tried to save his life. In fact, he was the owner of the place, and his advice was the least he could do for his customers.

"Sir, I won't say anything unkind, but before it's too late, go and kneel before Sojae and beg for forgiveness. If you go right now, he might forgive you as much as if you plucked out his eyes."

The person next to me chimed in.

"That's right. Our Sojae is a merciful man. Quickly go and leap into the air and smash his head into the ground. It's called a kodu, and the important thing is that the cheekbone bleeds. That should be enough to spare you an arm or two, but not your tongue."

Thinking he had fulfilled his duty of hospitality with his sincere advice, Mr. Zhang now had to fulfill his duty as the owner of the lodge.

"So, gentlemen, will you please leave this place now? I won't charge you for the drinks you've had, but I'm the owner of this wedding cup and I can't let this place go to ruins, so please understand. Boys!"

Bam!

After two short claps, two sturdy Jumsoi rushed over, grabbed the man by both arms, pulled him out of his chair, and led him out the door.

'Uh-uh-uh… How dare you! I know you're old! I'm the one…….'

However, the two men were unmoved by the pleas of the man in gold and threw the man in silk out the door like garbage.

"How dare they, Master!"

Since their role was more of an escort for their master than a "procurement of beauties," they ran to defend him. No, they ran.

"Stop!"

A piercing shout rang out, and a beam of light pierced through the men's shoulder blades.

"Kaaaahhhh!"

With a scream of pain, the five warriors fell to the ground, a fountain of blood spraying from their shoulder blades.

"God damn you, how dare you have the audacity to assume He's a leper!"

Qin Xiaolong's eyes lit up at the sight. The sword qi from a moment ago was not her own.

"This sword method!

I hadn't seen it in a while, but once I did, it was unforgettable, the way it unfolded, the way it was unique, and there weren't many people who could do it.

"The arrow in the quiver seems to have gotten sharper and faster."

Qin Xiaoling smiled and said.

"You're welcome."

The place where Hsiao-yang's words were heard was about five feet away from the woman. There were two men standing there. One was a middle-aged swordsman in a blue robe, and the other was a compliant-looking young man in his twenties wearing the same robe.

"Long time no see, Gene Sojae!"

A stately man in blue robes walked over with quiet steps, and with a very polite and deferential gesture, he bowed and said.

The woman smiled brightly.

"You still call me Sojae after all these years?"

Then a slightly embarrassed look appeared on the man's face.

"Heh, is he embarrassed, that iron tiger of a man?

The young man's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight that could hardly have been a dream. The figure, reacting to the woman's words, was a million miles away from the one he was accustomed to seeing. He wondered if it was really the same person who had shown him hell, and he was too afraid to tell his executioners.

'You wouldn't believe me anyway…….'

You'll be lucky if you don't end up looking like a crazy person.

"Who is that kid?"

Then he heard the woman's voice again. It was a quiet, dignified voice, and it certainly had the power to draw people in.

"Oh, I'm late with the introduction."

The Four Hundred Tigers called out to him with a wave of their hands.

"Unbya, come and greet the goddess!"

The young man shuffled over.

'I don't understand. How could the Four Hundred Tigers be so intimidated by a mere woman?

Yu Yunfei's head snapped up at the mention of the new girl.

"Whew, that's… that's… that's……!"

"Yes, this is the greatest female swordswoman in Sichuan, the Amu Goddess Qin Xiaoling, Qin Yeqiao."

There was no need to say, "You know about it, right?" or "You've heard of its glorious reputation. It's like no one asking you if you know you breathe. Because it's so obvious.

The Amu Goddess Qin Shaolin, any martial artist who didn't know of her existence was definitely not a Sichuan martial artist. If there was such a person, one had to suspect their origin. Besides, there were mountains of people who wanted to meet her, but there were only a few people who had met her, and she was above the clouds, so it was an honor for a late-stage cultivator like him just to see her face once.

"Yu… Yu Yunbi sees the new girl."

He quickly struck the best pose he could and posted a yes. An opportunity like this doesn't come along very often.

"New girl… I'm flattered by the title."

Qin Xiaolong waved his hand and said.

"To hear such a thing from 'Daehyeop' Yoo Eun-sung, the Fallen Sun Sword, who has the reputation of being the first sword of Jumchang."

Eunseong's spirits soared at the subtle compliment, but she had to desperately control the muscles in her face that threatened to gape open, and managed only a small smile.

Although she was well over thirty years old, there were no signs of age anywhere on her, and she was young, beautiful, graceful, and elegant. Her gaze fell on Yu Yunfei, who was staring at her in fascination. Unknowingly, Yu Yunfei's face turned red.

"This must be the newest rising star in the dot-com world, 'dot-com days'."

Hearing that the Ami Goddess had heard of his fame, Liu Yunfei felt so proud that he thought he would soar into the sky. But that feeling was shattered by Yue Yunxi's cold words.

"No, not a star, not even close, it's just a budding star, and I wish you many, many maps."

Yoo smiled.

'p… pirami…….'

Kulk, kulk, Liu Yunfei grumbled, barely holding back the urge to draw blood. He was always so full of praise. It was clear that he hated the very act of human kindness, the act of praise. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so unkind to someone who deserved it.

"You deserve to die a thousand deaths for your crimes, but I'll spare you for the sake of the priestess. This is Ami's territory, and in such a place one cannot kill without Ami's permission."

In his heart, he wanted to slaughter a thousand million people, but since this was not the realm of divination, he had to use the stone of patience to crush the lid of his raging heart. Twenty years later, his longing showed no sign of abating. The master of the Five Idiots and the Fools, the Foolish Fool, slammed his head into the ground, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

"By the way, Mr. Yu, what brings you here?"

-Is it really, an event?

"Oh, yeah. I had a stop to make. It's his turn to take the test this year."

-Do I look like a man who would lie? Indeed, it is the first Advent in nearly five years!

"You mean Yu Dae-hyeop is there too?"

At Qin Shaolin's reply, Yue Yun's eyes widened.

"And Gene Sojae, too? What a coincidence."

-When?

-Departure is a month from now. The place is Zhongyang Marker Station!

"Wow, what a coincidence……."

Qin Shaolin nodded and replied.

-You mean the Middle Kingdom?

-Yes. I'll be accompanied by one of my students.

"I thought you had gone out for a while because you were unaccompanied, and I didn't expect you to go to the South Window."

-Give the impression of a chance encounter. She's so innocent, she won't suspect anything.

"Oh, I have to go somewhere, but I promised to meet you in a few minutes, and I'll be joining you there, and I have some errands to run at the Heavenly Martial Arts Museum, so I'll be accompanying you this time."

"To do?"

"Yes, I'm meeting my nephew's child for the first time in five years, and I can't wait to see how strong he's gotten."

Having trained under her and with Yulan, Qin Lie had never let her down. Originally, she hadn't planned to show up this time. The entrance ceremony for the Heavenly Martial Academy had been going on for the past hundred years, and it was nothing new, but this time she decided to go herself, even though it would be enough to have someone else do it. She wanted to see with her own two eyes what her niece's first real love was like. If he's indecisive and muddled, that's a problem. A man who had lost his conception, she reasoned, was better discarded than fixed. It's a choice that will follow you for the rest of your life. In a world so full of them, could her eyes really see and pick the right one? I wanted to test her discernment.

"Then you'll be accompanying me, albeit coincidentally."

-And then, naturally, you get to accompany them on their journey, a long journey of almost two months.

-two… two months…….

"Well, that's great, and I'm sure he'll learn a lot from working with you, since it's not often that he gets to see firsthand the reputation of the 'Cloak and Dagger'."

"Haha, words of praise! Just seeing the divine body of the Ami Goddess, who is indeed the top of the Heavenly Five Swords, next to him, will be enough for him to have an epiphany. Where else can he go to enjoy such good fortune? He is blessed. What a coincidence."

-Well, this labor union has given all it has to give. Then all that's left is to receive. If there's something to go, there's something to come, isn't there?

-What do you mean, the interest?

-Do I really have to put that in this old man's mouth?

-Is this a backroom deal?

-Don't give me that "backroom deal" crap, you're too young. It's called "high level political negotiation".

-Is that so, Sarge?

-Yes.

'What a coincidence…….'

Watching from behind, Yu Yunfei grumbled to himself.

Coincidence was a red-hot lie. How willingly he waited for this day, how he waited for the date while stomping his feet, resisting the urge to go and urging himself to leave as soon as possible.

It wasn't a coincidence, that's for sure.

It was clear that I had already received information. I don't know how they got it, but they definitely got something. How much was paid for the job, for this information, was unclear, but it must have been a lot. There were rumors that there was a deal at the top, but there was no way to verify the truth of the rumors.

But Liu Yunfei, who was firmly under guard, dared not divulge the plot, for if he did, the tiger would surely tear him to shreds. He might not even be able to get the sword he had specially bought for him. He had been waiting for this day to come, just as Sabai had been waiting for this day to receive it.

"Is it that good?"

Liu Yunfei secretly grumbled so that the Four Hundred and White Lady Liu Eunsung would not hear. He had already realized that if he didn't want to be reborn in paradise at such a young age, he would have to master the dragon-driven biannan.

-Don't get the wrong idea that this old man is doing this out of self-interest. I think very highly of you. I am fond of you, that's for sure. And I want that child, my daughter, to be happy. It is my hope that she will meet the right person. Shouldn't she meet the right person?

-You mean… mate?

-Yes, mate, aka husband, the old man knows you turned down your next big job because you cared about that child.

-Okay, I'll take your deepest sympathies with a grain of salt.

-Yes?

-Yes, Xiao Yang's interest now belongs to Ami.

-Excellent choice. Thank you. Good luck. I'll be rooting for you.

-Yes, I'll do my best.