Why do I have so many masters?-Chapter 450 - 118: Taoist in the Snow Initiates Yin and Yang (1/2)

Xu Yulong stared blankly at the young man across from him, then lowered his head to observe the trembling bodies of the martial artists around him.

He was not a foolish man; being able to cultivate a moderately complex Internal Strength Manual to the Seventh Rank and securing a nearly high-level position in his sect at his age, he could not possibly be a fool.

Seeing the reactions of these martial artists, he had naturally guessed the reason.

The man sitting at the tea shop across the way was the scholar the disciples had mentioned, who traveled with Hong Feibai from the Heavenly Sword Sect and was extremely skilled with hidden weapons.

They had previously received secret information and had dispatched two Seventh Rank stewards from their sect to ambush the chief disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect along his usual route, but they had received no word back.

When Xu Yulong sent people to check again, they only found several sect members lying on the ground like corpses, nearly buried by the freshly fallen snow.

The other half of the group, including the two stewards, had completely disappeared without even their corpses to be found.

And this half of the disciples were those knocked unconscious by his hidden weapons.

According to the rules of Jianghu, he should now go over to confront the scholar, or at the very least, drop a few harsh words; whether they would fight was another matter, but he couldn’t lose in terms of momentum.

However, Xu Yulong had a premonition that if he went over, it would be like a stray dog splashing water in front of a tiger — definitely not ending well.

In the world of Jianghu, in the mountains and forests.

Was that tiger a vegetarian?

Glancing over the surrounding members of the Tiger Sword Sect and Anshan Boxing Club who were watching as if they were watching a good show, he steadied himself, did not make a move, but simply sat in his place and raised his hand for a drink.

A young disciple behind him, acting as an attendant, seeing this situation, moved closer and spoke softly,

"Master, this matter…"

"Don’t speak, and keep watching the Heavenly Sword Sect. They aren’t the only ones eyeing this big target; before anything else, caution is paramount."

Xu Yulong spoke softly, his expression unchanged.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

He inwardly cursed this young disciple for his lack of insight.

The young disciple realized and appreciated that Vice Leader Xu was indeed considering more than he had thought. He nodded, stepped back, and decided not to broach the subject of this disgraceful situation to the sect’s reputation further, although he was still curious.

Looking at the young martial artist sitting at the tea shop across from him,

He couldn’t understand why merely sitting there could make so many fierce sect members tremble with fear.

Wang Anfeng drained the tea in his cup but hadn’t drawn out anyone from the opposite side. Feeling regret, he took out several copper coins from his chest and lined them up on the table.

These silver coins had been specifically exchanged at the Great Qin Bank lately, with most being stored at Shaolin; he only carried a few dozen, made from the finest material by the Great Qin Mint, serving as convenient hidden weapons.

Seeing the knife-wielding martial artists across the way looking as if they were facing a great enemy, Wang Anfeng chuckled, picked up the flat iron sword lying on the table, and stood up.

Just then, the young Taoist who had come behind Wang Anfeng held a bowl with both hands, drank some tea, and placed the cup on the table.

He wiped his mouth with his hand and pulled out a scroll painting from the package behind him. Before speaking, he stood up, bowed to the old man, and then courteously said,

"Old sir, pardon the intrusion."

The old man hurriedly waved his hand, saying, "Oh, young Taoist, this old man cannot accept such a gesture…"

The young Taoist shyly smiled and said,

"You deserve it. You deserve it."

Among the scholars of Great Qin, Confucian-Taoism is the most revered. The old man at the tea shop wiped his hands and smiled as he asked,

"Oh my, well… young Taoist, is there something you need?"

"I would like to ask about a person from you, sir."

"I wonder, sir, if you have encountered this person these days?"

As he spoke, the young Taoist carefully unfolded the scroll painting.

At that moment, Wang Anfeng walked past the tea shop.

Hearing this, he glanced at the young Taoist inadvertently. The young man was no older than fifteen, his hair held with a bamboo pin, carrying large and small bags, which, due to their size, made him appear even more delicate.

His complexion was fair, his eyebrows light as distant mountains, his eyes bright as stars, and his gaze sparkling with life.

Despite his youth, one could already see the signs of a future exalted figure.

So vast was Jianghu, filled with many destined to be distinguished.

Thinking of Hong Feibai, Wang Anfeng felt conflicted, sighed, and looked away, holding his iron sword upside down in his left hand as he passed by the tea shop.

The young Taoist had just opened the scroll painting.

It was of fine quality paper, depicting a handsome young Taoist.

The plain Taoist robe could not conceal his transcendent aura: sword on his back and a jade pendant hanging from his waist. Unfortunately, his brows and eyes betrayed a hint of fatigue, vividly displaying a full twelve parts of divine charm, making the old man unable to suppress his inner criticisms.

If it had been his own child looking like this, he certainly would have taken off his shoe and given him a good smack.

However, this young Taoist was a stranger to him, so he observed carefully. After pondering hard for half the day in his mind, he ultimately shook his head at the hopeful-looking young Taoist, with an apologetic tone, he said:

"Sorry, young Taoist, this old man truly has no recollection."

"Perhaps it’s my age. My memory isn’t what it used to be..."

The old man sighed.

The young Taoist, regretful yet consoling, said:

"Your vitality is long and strong; surely, you will live a full century in this world."

His words were earnest, and his demeanor pleasant. The tea stall owner found great comfort listening, secretly lamenting how his own good-for-nothing son never spoke such kind words, lacking considerably.

It was a difference of ten or twenty miles.

The young Taoist rolled up the scroll painting, secured it, then drank the pot of tea he had ordered, and bid farewell to the old man.

Picking up his backpack, taller than half a person, his steps steady yet his fair face furrowing tightly in displeasure, he muttered under his breath.

Lazy ghost, an irritated old crane, a big gray donkey and the likes.

Having left the city gate, he leisurely progressed beyond the official road, the terrain around him flat but the autumnal dead grass weighed down by snow, looking somewhat desolate – a path ordinary people would certainly not take.

Yet it seemed the young Taoist paid no heed to whether the path was easy or not, simply lowering his head, muttering as he moved forward.

Official roads, wilderness, all behind him, covered in white snow.

He suddenly stopped, turned back to gaze at the Great Qin city, now just a dot in his eyes, reflected, then lifted his arm to snap a twig from a nearby tree and started to draw and write on the snow beneath his feet.

Heavenly stems and earthly branches, the Five Elements and Bagua. At first, parts were comprehensible to ordinary people, but as he continued, it became more complex, densely packed, nearly dizzying, his movements suddenly pausing.

The young Taoist’s eyes widened as he murmured:

"Something’s wrong... according to my calculations, my senior brother should be here...."

"I must not have miscalculated."

He resumed his drawing and writing on the ground, recalculating and confirming there was no error, then threw aside the twig.

He looked back at the now distant city, hesitated for a moment with his backpack, and decisively turned around to head back.

"You irritable old crane with lazy bones shoved into you by nature, you stinky Taoist."

"You owe me three sets of almond cookies, don’t think you can escape paying!"

Wang Anfeng returned to the inn, seated again at the table by the window, gazing across the courtyard by the camphor tree.

The scene was usual, yet now it had an undefinable, odd feeling. Today, from outside the restaurant looking in, he noticed no trace of the Baihu Hall members but saw many martial artists from various sects around the city.

The Heavenly Sword Sect was known to dominate two jurisdictions, their influence spanning over five hundred miles.

However, the prestige they possessed was now a thing of the past, the once formidable tiger now aged, barely suppressing the surrounding wolves.

These sects naturally wished for the Heavenly Sword Sect to crumble completely. They would have smashed its nameplate and thrown it into the furnace as firewood to extinguish their resentment.

Now these sects, each with their grudges, gathering here not by coincidence, were clearly not here to drink in the restaurants.

Wang Anfeng’s right hand curled into a fist, lightly tapping on the table.

His gaze drifted to the street, even within just a half-hour, the second wave of patrol guards had passed by, along with another group earlier, totaling three waves.

His keen eyes noticed that these Great Qin guards carried powerful crossbows and quivers on both sides of their waist, glinting coldly with forty armor-piercing crossbow bolts. With a hundred-meter range shielded by strong defense, they could easily earn a mention as ’locusts’ in the local records.

Wang Anfeng withdrew his gaze, seriously considering.

Whether or not to go into the Heavenly Sword Sect’s compound and share what he had seen with Hong Hui.

But since those from the sects were not hiding their presence, blatantly gathering and drinking in the restaurant, they clearly did not fear others knowing of their arrival.

And since the Heavenly Sword Sect could still hold their ground, it was evident that they had a solid foundation, far from the past greatness of the Great Sword Sect, yet they were prepared, with dense patrols moving about, clearly, Great Qin had sensed the stirring currents.

The young man squinted his eyes.

He felt as if he had unintentionally stepped into a whirlwind. The various forces had been balanced with hesitation, still stable, but now, with Hong Feibai drawing meat carts, the two of them were like an arrow shot directly into the mix, getting swept into this whirlwind.

He felt even breathing became somewhat uncomfortable.

Wang Anfeng took a deep breath, raised his right hand, and rested it on the hilt of the iron sword laid across the table.

PS: The first update of the day is presented...