Chapter 248: Chapter 162: The Heaven-Shaking Arrow, the Xie Siblings, and Ruchen’s Plight
’Holy shit!’ the three of them screamed internally. Zheng Xiu, however, couldn’t hold it in, and a question burst from his lips.
"A Monk???"
He was... Ruchen!
It was Ruchen, the very one who had been swallowed by the white Snake with Zheng Xiu on Celestial Yin Mountain!
Back then, Zheng Xiu had worried that Ruchen might have been digested by the white Snake and passed out as droppings. That worry now vanished. The moment he laid eyes on this bandit, a man both rugged and handsome, Zheng Xiu understood. The Monk hadn’t been digested. Instead, like him and Feng Bei, he’d been swept into Gongsun Mo’s Cannibal Painting!
’This is ridiculous!’
Zheng Xiu was stunned.
Hearing the name, "Ruchen" turned to look at the unremarkable Poor Scholar, his eyes lighting up. ’This Scholar is handsome enough to rival me,’ he thought. ’It’d be a waste to kill him.’ He didn’t dwell on it, however. He reached into his chest hair, scratching vigorously, and plucked out a louse. With a SQUISH, he crushed it and wiped his fingers on the blind man’s head. "Blind Man," he said, perplexed, "what’s with this Scholar? Is he blind like you? If your eyes don’t work, you might as well dig them out and pickle them in wine. Don’t be wasteful. How could anyone mistake me, Xie Yunliu, with this full head of hair, for a Monk!"
The bandits of Yunhe Village erupted in another round of sneering laughter.
Zheng Xiu stared at Ruchen, stunned for a moment, then asked, "Are you really Xie Yunliu?"
"Hm?" Xie Yunliu’s interest was piqued. "You’ve heard of me?"
’It’s hopeless.’
Zheng Xiu was now certain: there was one more broken person.
First, there was the Xie Luohe who didn’t know if she was Feng Bei or Xie Luohe.
And now there was the Xie Yunliu who didn’t know if he was a Monk or Xie Yunliu.
’Is everyone fucking with me?’
Zheng Xiu’s expression was peculiar. Of course he had heard of Xie Yunliu.
But this hairy-chested fellow didn’t quite match the legendary General Xie Yunliu.
"Ahem." Zheng Xiu saw Xie Yunliu staring at him expectantly, clearly waiting for an answer. He couldn’t exactly say that he knew the Xie Yunliu from two hundred years in the future had passed away peacefully. So, he just shook his head and said honestly, "Never heard of you."
Xie Yunliu made a throat-slitting gesture to the side, about to give the order to kill.
The bandits understood and advanced with their blades drawn.
Zheng Xiu added, "But your face... it tells a story."
Xie Yunliu froze and quickly held up a hand. "Wait a minute!"
All the bandits held their breath.
Zheng Xiu was taken aback again.
The other bandits didn’t dare to breathe, as if Xie Yunliu’s "Wait a minute!" held an extraordinary power.
Just then, a commotion arose from behind the circle of bandits.
"Brother, don’t be so hasty."
The clear, pleasant voice instantly quelled the bandits’ unrest.
The Yunhe Village bandits voluntarily parted to form a path. At the end of that path, coincidentally, stood Zheng Xiu.
Zheng Xiu stood there, watching as a stunningly beautiful woman with a giant bow on her back and the corners of her lips upturned in a slight smile walked toward him, barefoot.
Her bare feet trod on fallen leaves and mud, yet strangely remained completely unstained.
’Those bare feet in the darkness... they looked so fair, so delicate, so...’
"Pfft!" Before he knew it, Xie Luohe was standing right in front of him. She stifled a laugh. "You’re not a very proper Scholar, are you? Where are your eyes wandering?"
Zheng Xiu looked up, his gaze finally shifting from Feng Bei’s—ah, no, Xie Luohe’s—feet to her face.
Hm?
Zheng Xiu suddenly froze.
He didn’t know if it was a coincidence, but right now, Xie Luohe’s long hair fell over the right side of her face, covering her right eye. The look was an exact match for the Feng Bei in his memory.
In truth, he hadn’t gotten a clear look at her during that fleeting glimpse in the teahouse.
Now, Xie Luohe stood right before him. If it weren’t for her flirtatious words—something Feng Bei would never say—Zheng Xiu truly wouldn’t have been able to tell if the person in front of him was Xie Luohe or Feng Bei.
’Weird.’
The blind man scrambled up from the ground. "B-B-B-B-Big L-Leader, sh-sh-should we, ch-ch-ch-ch-chop him up..."
"Wait! Shut your damn mouth! Blind Man, if you say one more word to me tonight, I’ll take a needle and sew that rotten mouth of yours shut when we get back!"
The terrified blind man immediately clapped a hand over his mouth and nodded vigorously, as if afraid Xie Yunliu wouldn’t believe him.
"Little sis, how we deal with them is your call!" Xie Yunliu tugged at his chest hair, which made a rustling sound that others found oddly satisfying to hear. He said his piece, then pointed at Chu Chengfeng and laughed heartily. "But, little sis, if you decide to chop them all into fertilizer, can you leave this one for your big brother?"
Chu Chengfeng’s face fell. His mind went to a dark place, and he immediately gripped his longsword, ready to die rather than submit.
But Xie Yunliu’s next words put him at ease. "You saw this kid’s Swordsmanship, right? Heh! Anyone who can fight his way out of that chaotic brawl while dragging that damn National Preceptor along is no slouch. Your big brother’s been getting restless here in the village. Taking him back as a sparring partner would be perfect. It’ll give me a way to work off a full stomach."
"Brother, it’s a small matter. You can decide."
Xie Luohe smiled, resting her delicate chin in her right hand. A thoughtful smile played on her lips as she revealed their identities one by one.
"Chu Chengfeng, Third Young Master of Meihua Manor. Exceptionally talented, your Swordsmanship is unparalleled. Although your rank on the Weapon Manual is only thirty-eighth, two years ago, Dongfang Sheng—ranked seventh and known as the ’Six-Armed Divine Sword’—challenged you to a duel on the summit of Yue Mountain. Yet you avoided the fight. The Jianghu rumor is that you were afraid. Seeing you today, I believe you were afraid, but not of Dongfang Sheng. You were afraid of revealing your true edge, of being unable to feign mediocrity any longer."
Chu Chengfeng gritted his teeth and remained silent.
Next, Xie Luohe’s gaze shifted to Wen Shishan, who was pressed close against Chu Chengfeng, her face set with a grim resolve as if she were ready to follow him into the Netherworld. Xie Luohe sneered. "Wen Shishan, descendant of Pear Blossom Manor. A few years ago, you wandered the Jianghu disguised as a man—the supposed posthumous son of your family—and now you’re known as the ’Lady Sword.’ Oh, you poor thing. Chu Chengfeng’s Swordsmanship is enough to look down on the world, yet he insists on hiding his true strength. A man like that is either a fool or plotting something enormous. He has no time for romance. Take it from another woman: I’d advise you to give up hope and find a better match."
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