Chen Zui and his companions traveled for half a day before the snow began to fall again.
This time, it wasn't heavy, feather-like flakes, but fine, dense grains of snow that stung like salt pellets against their faces.
Ye Zhibai rode atop the White-Hoofed Crow, remaining silent throughout the journey.
From the moment they left the ruined temple until now, she hadn't uttered a single word.
She only occasionally lowered her head to glance at the snow-white longsword at her waist, her brow furrowed slightly as she chewed over the words Chen Zui had spoken to her that morning.
A-Man, on the other hand, couldn't keep his mouth shut, prattling on incessantly while riding his scruffy horse.
Chen Zui listened sporadically, occasionally offering a laugh or a mock scolding, not finding the chatter particularly annoying.
“Brother Chen, do you think we’ll run into any big excitement on our way to the border?”
A-Man rubbed his frost-reddened hands, his eyes shining with excitement.
Chen Zui glanced at him.
“You’re a beggar who couldn't even truss a chicken, yet you’re itching for excitement? If a real fight breaks out, you’ll probably be the first to die.”
“But I have you, Brother Chen.”
A-Man gave a cheeky grin, his face full of flattery.
“I don’t have the spare time to protect a burden like you,” Chen Zui said flatly.
A-Man looked at Ye Zhibai beside them and let out a theatrical, long sigh.
“It’s true what they say—even heroes have a weakness for beauties. Brother Chen, don’t go doing anything foolish like choosing a pretty face over your friends. Don't ruin your illustrious reputation!”
At this point, Ye Zhibai, who was riding at the front, finally spoke.
“My only purpose for this trip is to observe swordplay; I have no desire to cause trouble. If we encounter problems on the road, we should avoid them if possible or take a detour.”
Chen Zui smiled.
“Well, that’s unfortunate. I have a bit of a flaw—I love meddling in other people’s business. If you don’t want to be dragged into it, you’d better stay far away from me.”
Ye Zhibai frowned.
She completely failed to see through this man or understand what he was thinking.
Logically, when traveling the martial world, one should aim for as little trouble as possible.
Yet this man, who clearly possessed a wealth of experience in the martial world, seemed to love showing off.
This was evident from how he had exposed the identity of the Life-Severing Monk back at the ruined temple.
Anyone else, even if they had recognized the monk, would likely have been unwilling to expose him to avoid bringing unnecessary trouble upon themselves.
Or was it that this man was incredibly confident in his spear techniques?
While his spearplay was indeed exquisite, it couldn't make up for the gap in martial cultivation realms.
This man’s realm was only at the early stage of the Inquiry Realm, just like her own, and he had yet to enter the Second Rank.
One could say he had only just stepped through the threshold of the martial path.
Was he not afraid that the cultivation he had worked so hard to achieve would be destroyed in an instant?
“Look! There’s a town ahead!”
A-Man’s exclamation interrupted Ye Zhibai’s thoughts.
She looked up and indeed saw the faint outlines of low buildings through the curtain of snow.
“Let’s go in and rest our feet, then,” Chen Zui suggested.
Ye Zhibai and A-Man nodded in agreement.
It was only when they got closer that they realized this so-called town consisted of only thirty or forty households; calling it a town was a bit of an overstatement.
However, in such a desolate wilderness, finding any place to stay was a rare treat.
The three of them found the only eatery in town that was still open, pushed aside the heavy cotton curtain, and walked inside.
A stove was burning inside the shop, making it warm and cozy—much better than the conditions outside.
The three of them sat around a wooden table stained with grease.
They ordered three bowls of hot soup noodles and two jin of braised beef.
Before the noodles could be served, a sudden commotion erupted outside the shop, mixed with the crying of a child and the shouting of a man.
“You little brat! You dare steal from me? See if I don’t beat you to death!”
This was followed by a dull thud, sounding like something heavy hitting the ground.
Chen Zui frowned, set down his teacup, and stood up.
Ye Zhibai followed his gaze and frowned. “This kind of thing happens everywhere. Can you really manage them all?”
“Just because I can't manage them all, does that mean I shouldn't manage any?”
Chen Zui replied flatly before stepping out of the eatery.
Ye Zhibai and A-Man exchanged a glance and quickly followed him.
A crowd had already gathered at the mouth of the alley outside the shop.
Chen Zui pushed through the crowd and saw a boy of about seven or eight years old curled up on the ground. His face was covered in bruises, and a trace of blood hung from the corner of his mouth.
The boy was dressed in coarse cloth clothes covered in patches, and he was clutching a cloth bundle tightly to his chest.
Three burly men were surrounding him, kicking and punching him.
“Kid, you thought you could run after stealing medicinal herbs from our shop? Do you have any idea how much this snow ginseng is worth? Even if we sold you, you couldn't afford it!”
“I didn’t steal it! I picked it on the mountain myself!”
The boy’s voice was tearful, yet he stubbornly refused to bow his head.
“You picked it? A little brat like you who doesn’t know a lick of martial arts could pick a snow ginseng? If you don’t hand it over right now, I’ll rip your arm off!”
“I didn’t steal it... I really didn’t steal it...”
The boy’s tears finally fell, but his arms only tightened further around the bundle.
“Hey, you three.”
A sudden voice rang out.
The three burly men turned around and sized the speaker up.
“Where’d this meddler come from? Scram!”
Chen Zui didn’t get angry. He pointed at the bundle in the boy’s arms.
“He says he picked it himself. You say it’s stolen. What evidence do you have?”
The lead thug let out a cold laugh.
“Evidence? My word is the evidence!”
“Oh.” Chen Zui nodded. “So the three of you are just greedy for money and want to take this snow ginseng for yourselves?”
The thug’s expression darkened.
“Kid, are you looking for trouble?”
A murderous glint flashed in the thug’s eyes as he swung a palm as large as a fan toward Chen Zui!
Chen Zui stepped to the side to dodge, then reached out to grab the man’s wrist, giving it a gentle twist.
Crack—
A crisp sound echoed as the thug’s arm was instantly dislocated, leaving him howling in pain.
The other two thugs exchanged a glance and lunged at Chen Zui together!
Chen Zui didn’t even reach for his spear. He grabbed one man by his belt with his right hand and caught the other’s shoulder with his left. With a surge of strength in his arms, he tossed the two men—who weighed over three hundred jin combined—away like sandbags!
Thud! Thud!
The two men crashed heavily into a vegetable stall by the street.
“Run!”
The three of them scrambled away in a panic, disappearing around the street corner.
The onlookers, seeing that the excitement was over, gradually dispersed.
The boy remained curled on the ground, clutching the oil-paper bundle to his chest, his entire body trembling violently.
Chen Zui clapped his hands and crouched down in front of the youth.
“Little brother, did you really pick this snow ginseng yourself?”
The boy wiped away his tears and nodded vigorously.
“I really did! My father used to be a herb gatherer, and he taught me the paths. There’s a small trail on that mountain that my father discovered; no one else knows about it...”
Chen Zui smiled and fished a few taels of silver from his robes, pressing them into the boy’s hand.
“Do you think this is enough to buy that snow ginseng from you?”
The boy stared blankly at the silver in his hand, his eyes reddening.
“It’s enough, it’s more than enough! Thank you, Great Hero! May I ask your name? I... I will definitely repay you when I grow up!”
“There’s no need for repayment.”
Chen Zui stood up and pulled his bamboo hat down a bit lower.
“If you really want to repay me, then in the future, if you see someone else in trouble, just lend them a hand.”
When he heard those words, a complex light flashed through A-Man’s eyes.
Chen Zui noticed it but didn’t ask.
Instead, he spoke softly to the poor child.
“By the way, are you hungry?”
Before the little boy could answer, his stomach let out a loud rumble that provided the response for him.
The little boy scratched his head awkwardly.
Chen Zui laughed. “Come on, I’ll treat you to a bowl of noodles.”
With that, Chen Zui led the little boy into the eatery.
Rate on N.U.
