Chapter 55 | Once I Ruled the Jianghu, Now I Just Want to Nap

A flicker of surprise crossed Zhao Wen's face when he saw the newcomer. How did this man know he would be here? They hadn't even met.

“Are you surprised, tavern waiter?” Xu Qing asked with a half-smile.

This single sentence instantly blew his cover, causing Zhao Wen's heart to tense.

“How did you see through it?” Zhao Wen asked, utterly astonished. He had believed his disguise was flawless. He had even flayed the skin right off a tavern waiter's body to wear it.

This was because the waiter had a burn mark on his wrist, which served as perfect proof of his identity.

Xu Qing did not answer, merely staring at him intensely. But then, Zhao Wen suddenly remembered something.

【“Who are you?”】

【“I'm a waiter at the tavern over there...”】

Zhao Wen suddenly realized, and he couldn't help but chuckle dumbfoundedly. He hadn't expected that his vague gesture toward a random direction would actually be taken seriously.

After all, there were over a hundred taverns in Jinling City, with around twenty of them in the immediate vicinity. This fool had actually gone and asked!

Xu Qing ignored his inexplicable laughter, merely tapping his toes lightly twice.

Zhao Wen's guess was correct. Sensing that something was off that night, Xu Qing had gone to every single one of the surrounding taverns, twenty-seven of them in total.

Of course, not every tavern was willing to answer him, so he simply beat them until they did.

But none of that mattered anymore. What mattered was the result: there was absolutely no such waiter in any of the nearby taverns. Thus, the man could only be Zhao Wen in disguise.

“Hahaha, to think you'd expose me like that.” Zhao Wen laughed, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. “But do you really think you've got me cornered?”

“Take a guess.”

Ning Qingzhu suddenly scrambled out from beneath the bed, her short knife thrusting viciously toward the back of Zhao Wen's heart.

Zhao Wen had not expected a third person to be in the room at all. Caught completely off guard, he only managed to dodge slightly, leaving his shoulder with a slashed wound.

“Dammit,” Zhao Wen cursed inwardly. Moving as fast as the wind, he charged straight at Ning Qingzhu.

Yet the movement technique he took so much pride in seemed somewhat clumsy in front of Ning Qingzhu. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even graze the hem of her clothes.

“How is this possible... Who on earth are you?!” Zhao Wen roared, a tempest already raging in his heart.

A layman watches for fun, while an expert looks at the skill. Although the girl's footsteps seemed chaotic, every single step landed at an incredibly bizarre spot, effortlessly dodging his attacks. In his eyes, none of it made any logical sense, yet she pulled it off flawlessly!

“You don't need to know,” Ning Qingzhu retorted mockingly, her lips curving slightly upward. The footwork her Young Master had taught her was indeed incredibly useful.

What "unparalleled lightness skill"? It was nothing special to her.

Zhao Wen's steps grew more frantic, entirely failing to notice that he had been lured into his opponent's rhythm, until a long blade slashed through the air with a whistling wind.

Only then did Zhao Wen snap to his senses, desperately trying to use his movement technique to dodge. However, his footwork was already in disarray, and forcing a dodge only caused him to lose his balance entirely.

Slash!

The long blade cleanly sliced through Zhao Wen's body, cleaving him in two.

Zhao Wen crashed heavily onto the floor, his upper and lower body completely separated as blood gushed out, staining the ground crimson.

Yet he did not die instantly. Instead, he stared wide-eyed at Ning Qingzhu, his gaze filled with resentment and sheer disbelief.

“Te... Tell me, who ta... taught you that footwork?” Zhao Wen gasped with difficulty, drawing more shallow breaths than deep ones.

Seeing his pathetic state, as if he would breathe his last in the very next second, Ning Qingzhu decided to grant his final request.

“My Young Master taught me this footwork. His name is Jiang Buran.”

Zhao Wen's eyes grew hazy, but his ears heard her words crystal clear. He muttered, “Jiang... Buran.”

Jiang Buran? Jiang Buran? Keep out of the jianghu... In an instant, he thought of that man. Back in those years, a popular saying echoed throughout the entire martial world: “When Jiang Moran is here, do not touch the jianghu.”

Zhao Wen's eyes snapped wide, his mouth agape as if trying to squeeze out the very last breath from his lungs.

“Buran... He is... Ah, him.”

“What?” Ning Qingzhu seemed to hear him murmuring something and wanted to lean in closer, but Xu Qing called out to stop her.

“Don't get too close. Be careful of any tricks.”

Ning Qingzhu had no choice but to back off. However, she didn't know why Zhao Wen was still staring at her, his eyes bulging wide.

In the end, his pupils fully dilated as his breath left him. He died, but his corpse remained with eyes wide open, refusing to rest in peace.

“What happened to him at the end?”

“I don't know. Maybe he was triggered by something.”

Xu Qing said offhandedly. He didn't bother with the corpse on the floor, instead walking over to Qiu Zhiya with a vial of medicine.

She was currently sprawled on the bed, without even the strength to sit up. Xu Qing recognized it at a glance as the Bone-Weakening Powder commonly used in the jianghu.

He crushed the herbs, completely ignoring the glare Qiu Zhiya was throwing his way. Pinching her cheeks to force her mouth open, he fed the medicine directly into her.

The medicine was highly effective. In less than a minute, Qiu Zhiya recovered enough to sit up on the bed.

The very first thing she did upon getting up was to kick viciously at Xu Qing. However, the lingering effects of the Bone-Weakening Powder hadn't fully worn off, making the kick so soft it felt more like flirting.

“You bastard! Why didn't you guys tell me?!” Qiu Zhiya yelled in exasperation. She hadn't even known the girl was hiding under her bed.

“Uh...” Xu Qing was at a loss for words. He could hardly admit that he simply wanted to see her in a wedding dress...

“Ahem, ahem.” Old Chen coughed lightly from outside the door, refraining from entering.

Who would have thought this simple cough would instantly redirect her anger.

“And you, you old geezer! You made me play the honey trap while keeping me in the dark!”

Now it was Old Chen's turn to be speechless. No, wait, he really hadn't known! Had he known, he wouldn't have even come. Now he was taking the blame for free.

“I'm done playing along with this nonsense!” With that, Qiu Zhiya swung her legs out of the bed.

Except she had forgotten that her body hadn't fully recovered yet. The moment her feet touched the ground, her knees buckled, and she lost her balance, toppling sideways.

Ning Qingzhu's eyes went wide. Surely that fall was going to hurt?

Qiu Zhiya panicked as well, reflexively shutting her eyes tight. However, before the expected pain could arrive, she was caught in a warm embrace.

“Are you alright...?”

A familiar voice rang out. Qiu Zhiya opened her eyes in a daze, only to find herself resting in Xu Qing's arms.

Standing at the door, Old Chen watched the scene unfold, his lips curling up. Both of them were dressed in red wedding outfits, and they looked incredibly well-matched together.

“L-Let me go!” Qiu Zhiya muttered softly.

Xu Qing swallowed hard. Though he couldn't see her face from this angle, looking down, he could see that the ears on either side of her head were already completely flushed red.