Chapter 359: Storm in Jianghu (3)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Early in the morning, clouds covered the 72 islands of Mount Jun. Hundreds of ships of all sizes had rushed over from various places and were floating on the lake.
There were many people on the surrounding islands. In many empty areas, there were Jianghu’s youths sparring on the spot with onlookers cheering at the side. Only the ten-thousand-square-foot Jun Mountain Terrace in the center was empty, and there was only a lonely stone stele erected.
The islands were very far apart. Jun Mountain Terrace was an arena, and ordinary people didn’t have the guts to go up. If they wanted to watch the battle, the best place was naturally on the ships.
Although they didn’t know when the battle for the title of Saber Chief would begin, they were afraid that they wouldn’t be able to squeeze in front if they missed it. Many ships were waiting in the rain around Jun Mountain Terrace. The martial artists around the world on the ships were all looking forward to the duel.
Between the large and small ships, a black boat was slowly floating through the gaps. Hearty laughter came from the boat.
“Come, let me toast you, Senior.”
“Good drinking capacity…”
Under the narrow canopy of the boat, a person was sitting at the stern and rowing the boat while three people were drinking and chatting around a small table.
There was only a plate of peanuts on the table, but there were five jars of wine. The two young saber users were already flushed and drunk. As for Qiu Tianhe, who had his back facing the bow of the ship, his expression was normal. He was holding a wine bowl and looking at the scenery outside the window.
From Yellow Springs Town to Jun Mountain Terrace, it only took a night by boat. But without Qiu Tianhe, no matter how many people came, there would be no fight. His trip was naturally neither fast nor slow. He had gone sightseeing with the few kids he had just met.
After Qiu Tianhe was locked in a dark dungeon for more than half a year and met an infuriating martial arts genius like Ye Jingtang, his mentality had actually changed a lot compared to the past.
Although Qiu Tianhe didn’t look too serious, he was essentially like all peak martial artists. He could be considered a martial arts fanatic, and his heart was full of the ‘morality, chivalry, and friendship’ of Jianghu.
In the past, Qiu Tianhe had felt that the most enjoyable thing in the world should be to stand on Jun Mountain Terrace with a saber in hand and be admired by the heroes of Jianghu.
But after he was a death row prisoner for more than half a year, the most enjoyable thing in the world was to hold a bowl of old wine in his hand and bask in the evening sun.
He used to think that he was carefree, but after completely losing his freedom, he realized that in the past 50 years, he had only been led by fame and fortune. When had he truly been carefree for a day?
Then, when he met Ye Jingtang, Qiu Tianhe knew that it was impossible to fulfill his dream of replacing Old Man Xuanyuan as the Saber Chief for decades. Since there was no hope of reaching and staying at the top, he naturally no longer regarded the two words ‘Saber Chief’ as important
Now, Qiu Tianhe actually considered this upcoming battle his final battle. It would bring an end to the past. Afterward, he would leave Jianghu behind and live the life that ordinary people should live.
Qiu Tianhe knew that he couldn’t defeat Old Man Xuanyuan, but he had fought him twice in the past years and knew his details. It was impossible for Old Man Xuanyuan to kill him without at least three strikes.
If he saw that the situation wasn’t good, he would turn around and run to admit defeat. With more than ten thousand people watching, no matter how thick-skinned Old Man Xuanyuan was, it would be impossible for him to chase after him and chop him down.
Originally, the risk of this battle was not high, so Qiu Tianhe felt quite relaxed, as if he were going to work for the last time before retirement.
But he never expected Ye Jingtang to give him a huge surprise at this time!
Qiu Tianhe was leaning against the canopy and drinking wine when his ears suddenly twitched. He heard two voices coming from the deck of the large ferry beside him.
“Why isn’t there any movement from Jun Mountain Terrace? It’s fine if the Divine Marquis doesn’t show up, but Yao Wenzhong and Xuanyuan Hongzhi haven’t appeared either. There are just a few disciples to receive guests…”
“I heard that something happened. One of my brothers is in Wu Province. Last night, he sent news that there was a mess at the mouth of the Wuxi River. It seems that people joined forces to kill an official of the Black Office… Old Eighth Fan and Han Shaoping are both dead. There are also two people from Jun Mountain Terrace. One is dead, and the other is seriously injured. It’s said that they’re Xuanyuan Hongzhi and Yao Wenzhong…”
Qiu Tianhe stopped drinking and looked outside in surprise. His meaning was probably: Xuanyuan Hongzhi is dead? The heavens really opened its eyes. Which just and incorruptible official helped the people get rid of evil…
But before Qiu Tianhe could finish thinking, what they said next entered his ears.
“Aren’t you spouting nonsense? If those four people join forces, they can kill anyone below the Martial Chief level. For them to be wiped out, who were they dealing with? Daoist Xuanji?”
“It’s absolutely true. It’s said that he’s a young saberman. His saber is very fast, and he killed four people in the blink of an eye…”
?
A Black Office official, young saberman, very fast saber… Qiu Tianhe felt that this description sounded like Ye Jingtang.
However, although the description matched and there was a motive, Ye Jingtang shouldn’t be able to defeat Yao Wenzhong, let alone fight four people alone…
Could Ye Jingtang have brought experts of the Black Office to surround Xuanyuan Hongzhi…
Qiu Tianhe knew that Wu Province was in chaos recently, and he also knew about the enmity between Xuanyuan Hongzhi and Ye Jingtang. He felt that this was very likely.
He was Ye Jingtang’s uncle and half-master. After Ye Jingtang killed Xuanyuan Hongzhi, he went to Jun Mountain Terrace the next day to pick a fight with Xuanyuan Hongzhi’s biological father…
Isn’t this sending myself to his door to vent his anger?! Qiu Tianhe sat up straight. He knew that things were bad, as if he had fallen into a fire pit. He immediately put down the wine bowl.
According to Ye Jingtang’s estimation, Qiu Tianhe was a top saberman in Jianghu, and the atmosphere had been enlivened. There were so many people looking forward to the battle. Even if he knew that he would die when he stepped into the arena, he couldn’t lose his face and retreat tactically to avoid attracting criticism from Jianghu.
But in fact, Ye Jingtang was thinking too much.
If Qiu Tianhe couldn’t even lose this bit of face, how could he have lived to this age?
Seeing that the situation wasn’t right and that he might be beaten to death by Old Man Xuanyuan, who had lost his son, Qiu Tianhe didn’t even frown. He prepared to get up and row away to return to the capital to accompany Sister Meng.
Unfortunately, the boat was already too close!
Before the black boat could turn around in the narrow space between the ships, the noisy ships suddenly became quiet.
Then silence spread out until the lake for several kilometers around fell deathly silent, leaving only the sounds of the rain and waves.
Boom-!
Boom-!
A series of heavy footsteps sounded from the ten-thousand-square-foot stone platform. The person wasn’t visible, but the heavy footsteps seemed to knock on the bottom of people’s hearts. They were so heavy that even the sound of the rain became quieter.
The three young men on the black boat were originally chatting and laughing, and they kept saying the words ‘Old Man Xuanyuan’. But when the footsteps sounded, everyone turned pale in unison and gulped.
“The Divine Marquis of Jun Mountain is here. This aura…”
“As expected of the current Saber Chief…”
“That arrogant junior Qiu Tianhe is really rude. He actually let Senior Xuanyuan appear first…”
Bang!
“Hiss! Senior, why did you slap me?!”
Qiu Tianhe smacked the back of the young man’s head and let go of the oar he had just held. He sighed softly and muttered, “This damn Jianghu…”
After saying this, Qiu Tianhe walked out of the canopy with his hand on his saber and stood on the bow of the boat, his back as straight as a steep mountain.
Thousands of feet of blue waves were silent.. At this moment, in the vast world under the rain, only the two sabermen standing opposite each other were left…
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