Smack! The gavel fell, opening the curtain on another legend of the jianghu.
“A ghost mask is his signature, and the God of Slaughter is his alias. No one knows what he actually looks like; they only know that his true name is Jiang Moran!”
Ning Qingzhu was slightly taken aback. Jiang Moran? That sounded incredibly similar to her young master's name, differing by only a single character.
Her young master's name was Jiang Buran. Hehehe, he was basically riding on the coattails of this mysterious legend's fame.
The storyteller took another sip of tea to wet his throat before continuing, “Ever since this figure emerged in the jianghu, he suppressed all the heroes and masters under heaven by himself. During his most active years, he almost slaughtered his way through the entire jianghu with just one blade!”
“The Four Supremes of the World each possessed their own unique skills, and one could say they all stood at the pinnacle of the martial world. Yet, he was the only one who truly held down the entire jianghu back then.”
“While there are endless debates over who holds the second place under heaven, there is absolutely no question about who is the Number One!”
As the storyteller finished his speech, the blood of everyone present began to boil, as if they could see that unparalleled figure who had suppressed all the world's heroes right before their eyes.
“So incredible...” Ning Qingzhu murmured to herself. Was this the current Number One in the World?
“Uncle Chen, what do you think—uh, Uncle Chen?”
She was just about to turn and speak to him, only to find that he had stopped drinking his tea, ceased cracking melon seeds, and pushed all his peanuts to the side.
He sat up straight like a diligent student in a classroom, the pride on his face practically overflowing.
Ning Qingzhu looked at him in complete bewilderment. Why did he act like a completely different person the moment the Ghost-Masked God of Slaughter was mentioned?
“Uncle Chen, you're already at such an advanced age, yet you still have an idol?” Ning Qingzhu teased with a laugh.
“Hahaha,” Uncle Chen chuckled, stroking his beard. He wondered what kind of expression she would make if she knew that this Number One in the World was actually their young master.
At this thought, Uncle Chen laughed even more merrily.
Smack! The gavel cracked once more, and a new tale began.
...
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the old man and the young girl spent the entire day listening to stories in the teahouse until Qiu Zhiya came looking for them.
As soon as she stepped inside, she spotted Old Chen and Little Qing sitting there like wealthy patrons, leisurely cracking melon seeds and sipping tea while listening to the storyteller weave his tales on the elevated platform.
They didn't even notice her standing right next to them.
“What did you find out?”
“We heard about the story of the one-armed swordsman fighting the river pirate.”
...
Ning Qingzhu whipped her head around, staring blankly at the person beside her.
“So, how did it end?” Qiu Zhiya asked indifferently.
“Uh...” Her eyes darted away, and she gave a light cough to alert Uncle Chen next to her.
“What's wrong, Little Qing? Is your throat dry? Quickly, have some tea to wet your throat,” Uncle Chen said without even turning his head.
Ning Qingzhu pinched the bridge of her nose, completely helpless.
“I sent you two to gather information, not to listen to stories,” Qiu Zhiya said, stepping forward with a sharp, piercing gaze.
Only then did Old Chen realize something was amiss. When he turned his head to look, heavens, Qiu Zhiya had approached them without him even realizing it.
“We were indeed gathering information,” Old Chen said as he set down his teacup.
“That flower-thief's lightness skill is superb, allowing him to come and go without a trace. He will lure his targets to terrain that favors him, then launch a sneak attack to kill them in a single blow.”
Qiu Zhiya looked at him with some suspicion. “How do you know all this?”
“I heard it from the other customers here.”
“What?!” Ning Qingzhu's eyes widened in shock. “Weren't we just here to listen to stories?!”
“That was just you. You were the one who got too absorbed in them.”
“Ah...” Ning Qingzhu was momentarily at a loss for words. Although that was true, she still felt like something was off.
She felt a distinct sense of betrayal...
“Whatever. Let's head back to the inn first.”
Back at the inn, Xu Qing was already seated at the table. A short moment later, Qiu Zhiya and the other two walked in through the entrance.
The four of them sat around the table and began to exchange the information they had gathered. After a brief moment, Qiu Zhiya compiled everything.
According to Xu Qing's findings, there were at least eight other bounty hunters like them currently searching for the flower-thief.
However, for the time being, those hunters were in the same boat as they were—making no real progress. The target's lightness skill was top-tier, leaving behind virtually no tracks to follow.
“We have a rough profile of the target now, but we still have no idea where he actually is,” Qiu Zhiya said with a sigh.
Xu Qing shook his head in agreement. Trying to find a master of lightness skills in a city as vast as Jinling was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
For a moment, they fell into a deadlock.
Old Chen picked up the sheet of paper on the table. It listed the target's name and details, along with a portrait of him wearing a face mask.
Zhao Wen: somewhat plump and of average height. As for the portrait, he was ugly.
Old Chen frowned. Some people wore masks to conceal their features or, at the very least, to hide their ugliness. But this man's mask made him look like a pig bound by ropes, forcing the fat on his face to bulge out.
Unwilling to linger on the portrait, his eyes quickly darted to the next line of information.
Traits: He enjoys ruining the purity of beautiful women, even taking pleasure in it. He is extremely lustful.
Extremely lustful?
The next moment, Old Chen turned his gaze toward Qiu Zhiya. She noticed his look immediately, and their eyes locked across the table.
It didn't even take a second for Qiu Zhiya to realize what Old Chen was thinking, and her face instantly darkened with rage.
“Forget it. Put that thought right out of your head,” Qiu Zhiya hissed through gritted teeth.
“You know as well as I do that this is currently the only way,” Old Chen replied casually, leisurely stroking his beard.
“Why does it have to be me?! What about her—” Qiu Zhiya pointed a finger at Ning Qingzhu, but the words died in her throat.
That was because Old Chen had already cast a glance her way, and his meaning was crystal clear: Are you looking to die?
Qiu Zhiya fell silent. If she had to face that man... perhaps acting as bait to draw out Zhao Wen wasn't entirely unacceptable after all...
“Go do what? I want to go too!” Ning Qingzhu suddenly piped up.
Her sudden declaration immediately choked Old Chen, who was in the middle of sipping his tea.
Rate on N.U.
