Chapter 192: Chapter 181: Do You Regret It Now?
The snow stopped in the middle of the night.
Before dawn, Tao Fang was woken up by her grandfather, and they left the inn to continue their journey.
Each of them led a horse, and as soon as they stepped out of the inn, they saw a luxurious grand carriage parked in the open space outside, much larger than ordinary carriages, pulled by four sturdy horses, all with jet-black fur, not a single stray hair on these fine steeds.
Tao Fang couldn’t help but glance several times at that grand carriage; she knew Chen Ming, who caused quite a ruckus yesterday, was inside it and hadn’t stepped out.
Moreover, she could hear that there was not only him in the carriage but several breathing sounds, clearly belonging to women.
Pah, lecherous scoundrel.
She spat in her heart, envisioning what the situation inside the carriage was like.
Even when traveling, he had to sleep with women in the same bed; this showed how licentious and unruly this person was.
"Fang’Er."
The old man called out, she then tugged the reins and let the horse chase forward.
The snowy path was hard to traverse, and the grandfather and granddaughter had to slow their speed.
By noon, as they passed a large tree, Tao Fang exclaimed in shock, "There’s a dead person."
The old man glanced over and saw a corpse lying behind the tree, then said, "It was one of the bounty swordsmen who chased out yesterday."
It seemed the middle-aged merchant was superior and killed this man here.
Though Tao Fang had seen dead bodies before, she still found it difficult to understand, "Sacrificing life for a few heads?"
The old man’s face bore a mournful wisdom of seeing through worldly affairs, "For these bounty swordsmen without sects, those heads could be exchanged for a higher cultivation technique, thus changing their destiny. It’s worth risking life for."
Tao Fang was unconvinced, "But Chen Ming is also without a sect. How did he make it onto the Cyan Cloud Ranking?"
"Rumors in Jianghu aren’t reliable. If I haven’t mistaken, the mark on that carriage belongs to one of the four sects in Jiangzhou, the Cangyue Sect. Moreover, there are experts accompanying them."
"Experts? How do they compare to you, Grandpa?"
The old man gave her an indulgent look and said, "Your grandfather is just a carefree hermit, how can he compare to those sect experts?"
The two talked as they continued their journey.
After walking several miles, they saw another body lying by the roadside, with another corpse a dozen yards ahead.
It was evident how brutal the fight over those four heads yesterday was.
After several more miles, Qingfeng City was already in sight.
The old man suddenly stopped, looked up at a tree, and sighed.
"What’s wrong? Ah!"
Tao Fang followed his gaze and saw a body in the tree, frozen into an ice sculpture. It was that middle-aged merchant from yesterday.
Unexpectedly, he ultimately couldn’t enter Qingfeng City and died here.
The four heads he’d tied to his waist were missing, taken by someone unknown.
"Let’s go."
The old man called out.
Tao Fang followed silently, saying nothing along the way.
Once inside Qingfeng City, the old man watched the bustling streets, the lively flow of carriages and people, and exclaimed, "They say Qingfeng city is a hub of prosperity for travelers, and today I see, indeed it lives up to its reputation."
Turning his head, he saw his granddaughter behaving uncharacteristically, with an unhappy demeanor. He asked, "Is this martial world not quite like what you imagined?"
Tao Fang replied gloomily, "I used to hear my senior brothers talking about their chivalrous deeds and how they avenged grievances. Those heroes fulfilled promises with great loyalty, and those young chivalrous men and women ventured through the martial world hand in hand like celestial couples, envied by others. Why is the martial world here completely different from what they described?"
Suddenly, a sneering voice came from beside.
She turned to see a merchant-looking man, glaring at him angrily, "What are you laughing at?"
The merchant laughed, "Judging by Miss’s accent, you must be from Xiazhou. Here in Jiangzhou, such things aren’t fashionable. If you find it unpleasant, it’s best to return to Xiazhou early."
After saying this, he walked away.
Tao Fang angrily said, "No wonder they say Jiangzhou people are treacherous, it turns out to be true."
The old man said, "One shouldn’t generalize. There are deceitful people in Xiazhou too, and Jiangzhou equally has people bursting with heroic spirit."
Tao Fang always trusted her grandfather’s words, then worriedly said after a while, "Grandfather, I’m afraid all the inns in Qingfeng City are full, where shall we stay?"
"Follow me."
The old man took his granddaughter straight to Six Gates, handed over an introduction letter, and quickly met a Fifth-Grade Captain.
This Fifth-Grade Captain, with the surname Li, claimed to be Li Guangjie, and was quite respectful in his attitude, "Senior Tao, your intentions are known to this junior, but with Qingfeng City’s current situation, you see it’s really short of manpower..."
The old man calmly said, "Rest assured, I will find the people myself, just need you to cooperate a bit. Also, arrange for a place to stay."
Li Guangjie listened to his request and promptly arranged it.
"Also, Admiral Zhao is busy with important matters, there’s no need to disturb him."
"Yes."
...
After the grandfather and grandson left, someone below whispered, "Who is this senior? Why is the leader being so respectful to him?"
"You don’t recognize Senior Tao?"
"Does such a person exist in Jiangzhou?"
"Not from Jiangzhou, he’s from neighboring Xiazhou."
"Xiazhou, surname Tao... could it be Senior Tao Zhiquan?"
"Isn’t that him? This senior is said to be a legendary figure in the Six Gates, originally a bounty swordman, later recognized by a prominent figure and specially recruited into the Six Gates. He’s solved countless major cases and is revered as a Divine Capture. His cultivation has broken through to Third Grade, but unfortunately, due to his background, he never got promoted to Third-Grade Admiral. As a result, he became disheartened and stepped down from his position. It’s a pity."
"What is Senior Tao doing in Qingfeng City?"
"You don’t know? It’s said that he accepted a disciple early on, who was his distant nephew. But this disciple turned out to be insane and killed his son’s entire family. Over the years, he has been chasing that disciple..."
"Unexpectedly, such a tragic event occurred."
...
After settling Senior Tao, Li Guangjie went to report to Lord Zhao and happened to encounter Du Caiyue, whom he hadn’t seen for six months.
Li Guangjie saw that Du Caiyue’s face was still a bit pale and said mockingly, "Were you so eager to break through to Third Grade? You ended up losing control and looking so embarrassing, it’s been half a year and your injuries haven’t healed."
Du Caiyue said calmly, "I got injured, but it will get better with time. However, some people who offended the wrong person may never find peace in their lifetime."
Li Guangjie sneered, "Once you’re in the Six Gates, you shouldn’t fear offending people."
"Really?" Du Caiyue looked at him with a half-smile, "Among those on the Cyan Cloud Ranking, at least thirty percent can advance to the Divine Treasure Realm. You must be aware of that, right?"
After she said this, she saw a hint of shadow in Li Guangjie’s eyes but didn’t continue speaking.
She believed that he must be regretting why he offended Chen Ming back then. Of course, the bigger possibility is why he didn’t go all out and kill that kid at the time.
Who could have thought, within less than a year, the unremarkable Sixth Grade they didn’t pay any attention to is now soaring high, famous throughout Jiangzhou?
That is the Cyan Cloud Ranking!
Meaning among those under twenty-five in Fifth Grade, his strength is at the very top.
Others may not know its value, but how could she and Li Guangjie not realize?
At Fifth Grade, the strength gap between martial artists of the same level can sometimes be greater than the difference between Fifth and Sixth Grade.
Those top disciples from aristocratic families and sects practice supreme divine skills and the most exquisite swordsmanship saber techniques. Their mentors frequently spar with them, making their strength far surpass their peers.
How could ordinary Fifth Grade be a match for these people?
Chen Ming’s ability to defeat numerous disciples from aristocratic families and sects with such strong power is simply unbelievable.
When Du Caiyue initially heard this news, she didn’t believe it until she saw the latest edition of the Cyan Cloud Ranking and found Chen Ming’s name at the sixth position, she had no choice but to believe.
At that time, she speculated that Chen Ming’s rapid strength advancement must be related to the Taiyin Scripture.
Half a year ago, after Du Caiyue acquired the Fiery Sun Divine Skill, she couldn’t resist wanting to practice it together aiming for the effect of balancing yin and yang. But as soon as she started, she lost control and almost died on the spot.
She nursed her injuries for a full half year, and thinking back to that time still makes her heart palpitate.
She desperately wanted to wait for Chen Ming to return and ask him about the secrets. But after waiting for over two months, he still hadn’t come back to Qingfeng City.
Were it not for her duties, she would have asked Lord Zhao for leave to go to Jiangzhou City and find Chen Ming.
At this point, the steward came out and led them into the study to meet Zhao Shouchang.
Du Caiyue and Li Guangjie walked in with solemn expressions.
...
In the study, Zhao Shouchang was practicing his writing.
The two stood by and waited; they had been with Zhao Shouchang for quite a while and knew that whenever big events occurred, he would begin practicing writing.
After a moment, Zhao Shouchang finally finished a piece, put down his brush, took a wet towel handed by the steward to wipe his hands, and said, "It’s said that Tao Zhiquan has arrived?"
Li Guangjie replied, "Yes."
"It’s really a chaotic season." Zhao Shouchang lamented.
"My lord, this is already the fourth Third Grade strongman. Who knows how many more are hidden in the shadows? Such a situation makes Qingfeng City like a powder keg, liable to explode at any moment. You alone might..." Li Guangjie was quite worried.
These days, he has been under immense pressure. If anything goes wrong, he would have to take the blame.
Zhao Shouchang said, "I have already sent a pigeon message to Jiangzhou City and the Capital City about Qingfeng City’s situation, and help will soon be sent. Until then, nothing must happen."
"Yes." What else could Li Guangjie say?
After speaking, Zhao Shouchang turned to Du Caiyue and asked, "How is your injury?"
"Thank you for your concern, my lord, it has mostly recovered."
"That’s good, going forward, Qingfeng City won’t be peaceful, you need to work together to ensure no major incidents occur in the city."
"Yes."
"By the way."
Finally, Zhao Shouchang said, "Chen Ming is coming back."
This sentence changed the expressions of both subordinates.
