Leaving the inn, Chen Zui headed toward the border.
At this time, the wind and snow had ceased, and heaven and earth were silent.
In Chen Zui's ears, there was only the slow sound of crushing jade as his feet tread upon the accumulated snow.
The world for ten thousand li was equally desolate.
As for whether the path ahead held fortune or calamity, he never gave it much thought.
Only after stepping onto the martial path of this world did he realize the importance of having a clear and unobstructed mind.
As the saying goes, the mountains, rivers, wind, and moon have no permanent master.
He who is at leisure is their master.
Why bother thinking so much when doing something?
His trip to the border wasn't actually for the sake of that senior Sword Attendant who had reappeared in the martial world.
After all, with his current realm, he wasn't qualified to meddle in the affairs of such a figure.
However, a Second Rank Peak Martial Arts Grandmaster who had been missing for over thirty years would never suddenly head to the border between two nations for no reason.
Such a move would definitely attract the attention of various factions.
Where there are many people, there are naturally many matters to meddle in.
Even if he was unlucky and couldn't get involved in the main event...
Just witnessing the sights of the border would make the trip worthwhile.
Because of this, Chen Zui was in no hurry to use his Dragon Roam movement technique, instead walking slowly through the frozen world.
After walking for about two shichen, a ruined temple appeared ahead.
Two horses were tied at the temple entrance.
One of them had a sleek, oily coat; at a glance, it was clearly no ordinary mount.
Chen Zui pushed open the temple doors without hesitation.
The moment he entered, three gazes shot toward him simultaneously.
Chen Zui used a finger to tip up his bamboo hat, meeting the eyes of the three people sitting around a fire.
On the far left was a large, fat monk.
This man wore a string of iron prayer beads around his neck, each bead as large as a fist—their weight was evident.
Beside the monk was a withered, thin beggar with a sallow complexion, looking as if he hadn't had a full meal in three years.
At this moment, he was obsequiously kneading the fat monk's shoulders and pounding his back.
The third person was a woman.
A snow-white longsword lay across her knees, and her expression held a cold severity that warned others not to approach.
The fat monk was the first to break the silence, grinning broadly.
“Yo, in this ghostly weather, someone’s actually bored enough to come out and freeze their balls off.”
Chen Zui shook the light snow off his body and smiled. “This Great Master truly has eyes like torches.”
“Oh? Why do you say that?”
The fat monk looked at Chen Zui with a darkened expression and asked back.
Chen Zui didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked to the fire and sat down right next to the woman.
He leaned his long spear against his shoulder and stretched out his hands to warm them by the fire.
Once his ten fingers were flexible enough to bend, Chen Zui spoke to the fat monk again.
“Because I am indeed a very bored person.”
Upon hearing this, the fat monk burst into loud laughter.
“Interesting, interesting.”
“However, Great Master, there was a problem with what you said just now,” Chen Zui said with a serious face.
“Oh? What problem?”
The fat monk's smile instantly vanished.
Chen Zui said calmly, “In this kind of weather, besides bored people like me who have nothing better to do, there is another kind of person who would be out.”
The fat monk said, “What kind of person?”
Chen Zui smiled. “Busy people, of course.”
“Interesting, truly interesting. But what could someone be busy with in this ghostly weather?”
The fat monk patted his smooth forehead, his eyes glaring viciously at Chen Zui from the corner of his vision.
Chen Zui ignored him and continued slowly.
“For example, someone who has practiced an evil technique.
Someone who can only ‘borrow lives to cross calamities, using people to nourish oneself’ to raise their own realm, harming countless people in the process.
Ultimately, someone who is wanted everywhere by the government and righteous sects, and is busy running for their life.
Such a person definitely wouldn't care whether the weather is bad or not.
Wouldn't you agree?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the fat monk's aura surged violently, the shockwave sending the weak beggar flying three zhang away!
“Kid, are you looking for death? You actually recognized this monk and dared to say it out loud!”
However, Chen Zui continued to hold his hands out for warmth before the crackling fire.
The next second.
A cold sword intent erupted from beside Chen Zui.
It instantly caused the fire to dim by thirty percent.
“You are that evil monk known as the ‘Life-Severing Monk’?!”
The female swordsman held her sword horizontally, looking at the fat monk with a solemn expression.
Hearing this, the fat monk laughed hideously and incessantly, the sound shaking the accumulated dust from the ceiling.
“Since things have come to this, this monk has nothing left to hide.
I originally planned to wait for this heat to die down before acting again.
But you can only blame this kid for having such a fast mouth.
That the two of you have fallen into my hands can be considered your destiny.
This poor monk will surely deliver you both to the afterlife!”
“What arrogance!”
The woman prepared to draw her sword from its scabbard.
“Wait!”
At this point, Chen Zui finally stood up and planted his long spear beside him.
“Miss, while there's nothing wrong with ‘ladies first,’ shouldn't we follow the rule of ‘first come, first served’?”
The female swordsman's brow furrowed slightly.
“What ‘ladies first’? What on earth are you talking about? Could it be that you want to side with this evil monk?”
Chen Zui shook his head and sighed; communicating with women was far too exhausting.
“To put it simply, I should be the one to handle this. Please do not interfere.”
System rewards were distributed according to the weight of his own contribution during the process of meddling. Therefore, one extra person meant one less portion of experience points.
“Could it be that you're afraid I'll steal the credit and take a share of this evil monk's bounty?” the woman said seriously. “You can rest assured, I won't take a single cent of the bounty!”
Chen Zui's teeth itched with frustration.
“Why can't I make this clear to you? It's not about the money!”
Seeing this, the woman froze for a few seconds and had no choice but to let go of her sword hilt.
“Then you had better not be overconfident and let this evil monk escape!”
“I know, I know...”
Chen Zui waved his hand impatiently. It seemed a woman's habit of nagging was truly innate.
Immediately, he looked toward the beggar who was lying on the side, pretending to be dead.
“Hey, kid over there, stop faking it. Quickly, beg me to rescue you from this evil monk.”
To trigger a system mission, he had to intervene in an event.
If he just directly moved to capture the fat monk, at most it would be considered removing an evil for the people—a good deed.
The system wouldn't give him any rewards for that.
Therefore, he had to ask the beggar first.
After being exposed by Chen Zui, the beggar could only stand up and begin sizing him up.
“Are you actually reliable? Don't let this monk take his anger out on me later.”
“Heh, you’re quite the slippery one.”
Chen Zui gave a playful scolding and then activated his 【Beyond Doubt】 Trait.
Immediately after, the beggar's face actually changed on the spot, and he knelt down, begging Chen Zui to rescue him from the evil monk!
The female swordsman witnessed this scene, her brow twitching slightly.
This beggar's behavior was far too bizarre...
“Hmph! All of you certainly have big mouths!”
By now, the fat monk had already stood up.
Once he stood, Chen Zui realized the monk was even taller and broader than he had estimated!
Standing by the fire, he was practically a mountain of flesh.
The monk took the iron prayer beads from his neck and wrapped them around his fist with a clatter. The sound of the beads colliding was dull and heavy.
“You're just a Spearman. Who gave you the nerve to come out and meddle in others' business?”
The fat monk's words weren't wrong.
Looking across the two dynasties, not a single Spearman had ever entered the ranks of the Martial Arts Grandmasters.
This was enough to prove that the decline of the Way of the Spear was an indisputable fact!
Chen Zui said nothing, only calling out to the system in his mind.
【Detected that the host is about to enter a combat scenario. Please select a spear technique for battle...】
“Access Coiling Serpent Willow Spear.”
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