Chapter 14: A n.o.ble Gentleman – Part 6
Translated by the wonderful Kestrel
Edited by: Ritpoppy
The head shaoxia was around 5"6", in white clothes and a feathered hat, thick brows nearly vertical as he yelled: "Alright! So you guys were the culprits, huh!"
Yan YuNan stood up, pulling YuLou and YuLing behind him, and whispered: "They"re guys from Zhaoyao House and a few other sects – you two don"t move, stand behind me."
Ming ChangYan straightened his body; the moment the Zhaoyao House"s shaoxia saw his bamboo hat and black veil, his look changed drastically, and he jumped backwards as quickly as he could: "I-it"s the n.o.ble Gentleman!"
"The n.o.ble Gentleman? Ming ChangYan? He"s here too?"
"The dead were all killed with needles, do you think he did it?"
"No way, what would he kill people for, have you lost your mind!"
"If you ask me, these guards were probably purged by the "Rain Column"!"
"You"re just trying to scare us!"
"How do you know that?"
"Going as far as using old legends for your stories, there"s something wrong with you! There"s never been a so-called "Rain Column" among the three troops. You"re just spreading lies!"
"Who can really say, what if Ming ChangYan is the "Rain Column"…"
The aforementioned Three Columns were troops within the army directly subordinate to the Central Plains" Imperial Court, called the Mountain Column, Fire Column, and Earth Column. They and the Thirteen Guardians each did their own separate duties, two separate squadrons protecting the imperial family in darkness and in light, carrying out secret missions, etc.
As for the "Rain Column", it was a famous legend: an organization used by the imperial family to intimidate martial circles around the country.
It was difficult to use official law to judge homicides among martial circles in the Central Plains, meaning it was nearly impossible to handle murder and arson cases…and so the legend of the Rain Column came to be. If a martial sect overstepped their bounds, willfully slaughtering the innocent, they"d be purged immediately. When the "Rain Column" purged a sect, it was often accompanied by pouring rain; killing people in the rain, leaving not a trace of their arrival, was also how the Rain Column had got their name. As long as you were targeted by the Rain Column, your only future was total extermination – there had never been any survivors. People"s opinions around the country were therefore widely divided, and no sect dared to overstep their bounds. In the end, whether or not the Rain Column really existed was a mystery that no one had ever solved.
In other words, if the Rain Column really existed, then they were bound to be exceedingly powerful, above all martial arts in the land; otherwise they wouldn"t be able to so effortlessly exterminate sect after sect the way they did. Someone with that level of power—who bragged the most about having it? The answer was obvious.
The Zhaoyao House shaoxia let out a forced laugh, cupping his fist in his hand: "A misunderstanding, we hadn"t realized you were friends from Tianqing Sect."
Ming ChangYan offhandedly cupped his hands, counting that as having returned the greeting.
"What a rude guy! Just look at how he"s acting towards us!"
"Ai, it"s not like you don"t know what he"s like; if you"ve got the skills then let"s see you try being number one in the country."
"If you ask me, he might actually be the one who did it. Who else in the country"s this good at using needles?"
"Alright alright, stop arguing!"
A lot of whispers, fearing Ming ChangYan might be hearing-impaired, were spoken incomparably loudly.
Ming ChangYan moved, his hand pressing lightly on the Common People"s Order; at once, there was absolute silence.
Hua YuLing jumped out, saying: "What"re you putting all the blame on us for, everyone just got here, for all we know maybe you"re the murderers!"
Seeing that his shi-xiong had started talking, Zhong YuLou promptly put away his hostility, put a truce on their little conflict, and joined him in facing the enemy: "The big influential sects sure are unreasonable! Showering people in insults the moment you show up, you think I can"t insult you back!"
Yan YuNan warned them: "Don"t say any more, you"re making things difficult for Da shi-xiong."
The two boys indignantly shut their mouths.
TianQing Sect had gained fame too quickly, taken too much of the limelight, and had an unsteady foundation, leading to them being ostracized by the older and more experienced sects. Usually most people around the country were incredibly resentful of TianQing, believing the sect was overly indolent and unrestrained. Of course, they were particularly resentful of Ming ChangYan Ming ShaoXia. But because he had the Common People"s Order in his hands, the martial circles couldn"t actively show their dissatisfaction towards him, instead gossiping behind his back and secretly sharing their loathing of TianQing. Ming ChangYan had never shown the least concern for such little things as this, which made it seem as if TianQing was easy to bully.
It wasn"t the first time a scene like today"s had occurred.
Zhaoyao House"s shaoxia spoke a few words, Ming ChangYan didn"t answer, and the atmosphere immediately froze.
"Young Master ChangYan."
Another man stepped out from within the crowd. This time, when Ming Changyan saw him, he actually gave a proper greeting: "Wan ShaoXia."
This was Guifeng Sect"s first disciple, Wan QianQiu; his relationship with Ming Changyan was generally rather good, and in recent years, his sect was the only one willing to work closely with TianQing Sect. Wan QianQiu had a gentle and honest personality, straightforward and upright in his actions, and was the esteemed model example of a shaoxia among the martial circles, making a distinct contrast to Ming ShaoXia"s wanton and unrestrained way of behavior.
This was translated by , any repost of this is stolen and if you steal our work I"m going to drown you in the Yanbo River
Wan QianQiu said: "Now isn"t the time to talk about the past. Everyone, though Young Master Changyan may be skilled with the needle, the needles he has used have never once been left on the bodies of the deceased. Moreover, the needles on the Gou bodyguards are silver needles, not moondrop needles."
Someone spoke up: "Who knows what kind of needles he uses? Besides, if you want to kill someone, why would you use your usual needles!"
Wan QianQiu smiled: "And who are you, good friend?"
The "good friend" introduced himself: "I"m Mimi Valley"s Immortal Miracle Doctor, Cui ChengSheng!"
Wan QianQiu awkwardly thought for a moment, probably never having heard of any Mimi Valley or Immortal Miracle Doctor, yet still felt obliged to save the other"s face, forcing himself to say: "So you"re the Immortal Miracle Doctor – I"ve looked forward to meeting you."
Unexpectedly, Huai Yu very rudely laughed aloud.
The Immortal Miracle Doctor said: "What are you laughing at!"
Huai Yu was matchlessly proud in appearance, sharp as wind and graceful as jade, and whose relationship with Ming ChangYan surely wasn"t shallow based on how closely they stood together; no one dared to overlook him.
"Why do you care about what I"m laughing at."
The Immortal Miracle Doctor knew he was laughing at him, and so couldn"t suppress his anger, sticking out his neck as he said: "So what if I care!"
Huai Yu had been playing with a hair tie; he twisted it a few times around his forefinger, and was about to speak when Zhong YuLou spoke up instead: "Usually it"s wives who worry about their men, what"s a big guy like you being so sensitive for!"
He suddenly thought back over what he"d just said, remembering the tiny bit of news he"d heard from his fellow TianQing disciples the day before, and angrily blurted out: "Even Da shi-xiong hasn"t–mph! Mmmph!!"
Yan YuNan covered his mouth, laughing nervously: "Household matters, don"t mind him."
Ming ChangYan"s body went rigid, having realized where the little blockhead"s thoughts had gone, and said: "I did in fact come here from XiYue Mountain to investigate the ma.s.s murder of the Gou bodyguards; has Wan ShaoXia heard of The King of h.e.l.l Adorned in Wedding Dress before?"
Wan QianQiu"s face changed slightly: "…I have."
Ming ChangYan said: "That is who killed the Gou family guards."
The Immortal Miracle Doctor said: "Nonsense, these people were stabbed to death with needles! Ming ChangYan, do you have no shame!"
Ming ChangYan was getting tired of this guy, but he couldn"t just go ahead and beat him up in front of all these people, and therefore had to continue enduring it. He answered: "They were poisoned to death."
Huai Yu pulled a needle straight from Ming ChangYan"s shirt, and used it to p.r.i.c.k a corpse"s philtrum and all ten of his figers. Sure enough, unpleasant-smelling, dirty black blood flowed out from within.
As everyone covered their noses and backed away, Huai Yu said: "Constricted pupils, purple lips and tongue, swelling and putrefaction of the limbs—they"ve been afflicted with BuddhHand Red Lady."
Wan QianQiu spoke up: "I"ve heard of this poison before; those afflicted with it will have their hands swell up like a well-rounded Buddha"s hand, which is how it got the name."
The Immortal Miracle Doctor"s face turned bright red as he noisily argued: "Of course I know he was poisoned! The needles must have been coated in poison!"
Huai Yu indifferently said: "The poison was on the strings."
The Immortal Miracle Doctor seemed almost to stop breathing, the anger caught in his throat as he continued furiously speaking: "Bulls.h.i.t! I don"t see any strings here!"
Ming ChangYan whispered: "This guy"s really annoying, somebody shut him up."
Huai Yu lifted his hand, tore a few pieces off a small flat cake he"d bought earlier, poured his internal energy into them, and threw them into the Immortal Miracle Doctor"s mouth.
His mouth suddenly stuffed full of cake, the Immortal Miracle Doctor became greatly agitated, thinking he must have swallowed some sort of secret deadly weapon; he swallowed it without thinking, his face deathly pale: "You despicable creature! To think you"d actually use concealed weapons, and ones that….actually it tastes pretty good."
After he swallowed it, he froze for a moment, belatedly realizing what he"d just said, and immediately felt regretful enough to slam his head against the ground.
Having met with humiliation of this level, everyone from Mimi Valley turned to Wan QianQiu and complained in unison: TianQing Sect is bullying people!
Ming ChangYan drew back their attention with an earnest: "I have something to day – he isn"t part of our TianQing Sect."
There was no way Mimi Valley would believe him, and they all clamored for Wan QianQiu to take charge and demand an explanation.
The Immortal Miracle Doctor was currently in a fit of anger; seeing how arrogant Ming ChangYan was being, and not caring that the man before him was the best fighter in the land, he let out a bellow of rage, grabbed a pair of iron hooked chains and, spinning them around with formidable might, came charging straight forward.
Against a jack-of-all-trades like him, Ming Changyan simply pulled a single needle from his bosom, sending it flying out before the man could retaliate; he"d yet to reach Ming ShaoXia when he collapsed to the ground, violently spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The Immortal Miracle Doctor wasn"t the only one here from Mimi Valley, and seeing that Ming ChangYan had moved first, it was unreasonable for them to simply watch their fellow disciple come under attack; they promptly rose up to join the fray, surrounding Ming ChangYan from all sides.
Before Wan QianQiu could recover from his shock, Ming ChangYan had already exchanged seven or eight blows with the Mimi Valley fighters.
With every needle he threw out, another person kneeled. Ming ChangYan threw eight needles in total, and immediately Mimi Valley was laid out sprawling all over the ground.
The Immortal Miracle Doctor still had a strong will despite his disabled body; despite being unable to move due to the needle, he still had the strength to curse loudly: "Ming ChangYan!! You"re bullying people just because you"re great at martial arts! You b.a.s.t.a.r.d son of a b.i.t.c.h, you shameless skunk!"
Wan QianQiu put a hand to his forehead, then hurried to drag everyone apart: "If you have something to say then say it properly, gentlemen use their mouths, not their fists. Let"s first resolve the issue of The King of h.e.l.l Adorned in a Wedding Dress before handling any personal grievances."
The Immortal Miracle Doctor had suffered great losses, and refused to back down even an inch: "No! I won"t stand you speaking for him either, Wan QianQiu! Anyone with eyes can see how Ming ChangYan treats us, this isn"t just a matter of one or two days. Don"t tell me you don"t know how many chivalrous fighters in the martial circles have been humiliated by this guy! I want to right wrongs in accordance with Heaven"s decree, today!"
The scene immediately exploded into chaos.
Some unknown person from within the crowd shot a hidden dart towards Huai Yu while his guard was down. Ming ChangYan moved sideways to strike it down, but unexpectedly this flying dart was a revolving one; it turned around and came flying right back at them.
The scene at this moment was really in extreme disorder; Ming ChangYan had never antic.i.p.ated a situation like this, and the dart cut open his skin, drawing blood.
The three from TianQing Sect all drew their swords in unison, pointing them straight at the people of Mimi Valley.
Wan QianQiu had no choice but to stand alone against the three, hurriedly saying: "A misunderstanding! This is a misunderstanding!"
Yan YuNan said: "Mimi Valley was first to provoke us, and now they"ve injured my Da shi-xiong, there"s no way I can forgive them that easily!"
YuLou and YuLing rested their swords on Wan QianQiu"s shoulders, putting in a tiny bit of force as they closed in on his neck.
Ming ChangYan said: "Ai, what are you doing, all of you put those swords away."
Huai Yu pinched his arm with a frown. Ming ChangYan said: "It"s just a scratch."
As the three indignantly sheathed their swords, Wan QianQiu said: Young Master ChangYan, this incident today…"
Ming ChangYan said: "I don"t have the time to bother with looking into these guys. The second head of the Gou family guards is currently recuperating at TianQing; we asked him for details the moment he recovered. The King Of h.e.l.l Adorned in a Wedding Dress affair was originally none of my business, but now that their second head has come to our TianQing Sect, I"m going to have to start caring."
Wan QianQiu let out a sigh of relief at that: "Of course, nothing would be better than to have Young Master ChangYan be willing to help us. I"ve already secured lodging at GuiLin Inn over at XiaoHe Market, if Young Master ChangYan and the others would come with me."
Zhong YuLou jogged over to Ming ChangYan"s side, "Da shi-xiong, your wound isn"t serious, is it?"
Ming ChangYan smiled: "If you took too long to call the doctor, the wound would probably be healed before he even got here."
He casually grabbed the other half of the cake from Huai Yu: "Let me have some, I"m starving."
At the news that it was a small injury, Zhong YuLou patted his chest, breathed a sigh of relief, then tilted his head and asked Huai Yu: "Huai Yu ge-ge, what was that hidden weapon you used earlier, that was really cool!"
Huai Yu pointed at the cake in Ming ChangYan"s hands.
Ming ChangYan was happily eating away as he thoughtlessly asked: "When did you buy this anyway, what"s it called, it strangely tastes really good?"
Huai Yu slowly and deliberately said: "Wife cake." He paused, then asked again: "Didn"t you say you weren"t afraid of people seeing what you look like? Don"t tell me you"re afraid after all."
His mouth was full of cake crumbs; when he heard this question again, his expression turned somewhat dull, his hands suddenly seeming to be grasping a thousand-catty weights.
Yan YuNan and the others turned to him with a strange look in their eyes.
Ming ChangYan absent-mindedly took a step forward, not answering a word, and fell flat on the ground with a thump.
This was translated by , any repost of this is stolen and if you steal our work I"m going to drown you in the Yanbo River
I FOUND ANOTHER TRANSLATOR.
Let me just go bawl my eyes out on the floor.
Please give a round of applause to Kestrel, she"ll be helping translate from now on! I would like to thank her for translating this chapter ♡(ŐωŐ人)
If you see any translation/gramatical errors, please comment and notify me! We love reading your comments! I especially love reading your theories about this novel, they crack me up.
Have an incredible day~