Chapter 297: Taking Liberties with Zhao Ya
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: GaiaNove
"Un!"
He saw that the Crimson Tiger, which hovered about the middle-aged Jiang Shu, had indeed reached Zongs.h.i.+ realm pinnacle. Knowing that the other party had successfully tamed the savage beast, Zhang Xuan nodded his head in satisfaction. He turned to Jiang Shu and spoke in an indifferent manner.
"This teacher of yours is called Yang Xuan, and I just happened to pa.s.s by Tianwu Kingdom and decided to stay here for awhile. During this period of time, you"ll be considered as my student, but after my departure, I"ll remain as myself, and you"ll remain as yourself. After all, we"re just mere pa.s.ser-bys in each other"s life. However, you are not to use my name to conduct villainous acts, otherwise, I will kill you!"
Zhang Xuan"s motive for accepting this student was to form the golden page. Naturally, he couldn"t bring him around and, thus, decided to make things clear beforehand.
"Yes!"
Jiang Shu nodded as a tinge of disappointment crept onto his face.
Earlier, when the other party said that he would take him as a student, even though he didn’t outright decline, he felt resistant to the idea.
However, when he fed that pill to the Crimson Tiger and the latter really achieved a breakthrough, he realized that it was his fortune to be able to come under the tutelage of the other party.
Just by kneading an ordinary recovery pill, the other party was able to turn it into a treasure that would help savage beasts achieve a breakthrough. Despite the vast knowledge he possessed as a master teacher, he had never heard of such a matter.
Just this feat alone allowed Jiang Shu to realize that the person before him wasn"t likely to be simply a 3-star master teacher.
"May I know where does teacher live? So that in time to come, I may pay my respect!"
Even if it were just for a short period, becoming Yang s.h.i.+"s student was a huge advantage. Jiang Shu clasped his fist, hiding his disappointment.
"I do not have a definite abode as of now. Once I find one, I will send someone to inform you!" Zhang Xuan waved his hands casually. "Alright, you should return first!"
To induce grat.i.tude in another person and form the golden page wasn"t something that could be done all of the sudden. Zhang Xuan was already making great progress, having collected the other party as his student and establis.h.i.+ng trust.
If he were rush into things, he might just mess it up instead.
"Yes!"
Knowing that experts have their own way of doing things, Jiang Shu didn"t dare to inquire any further. After leaping onto the Crimson Tiger, he turned around and left.
Hu!
After the other party left, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
It was troublesome to act as an expert before a master teacher.
After all, master teachers possessed incredible abilities of discernment. A single lapse in his disguise could have resulted in failure.
"Right! I forgot to ask him where Tianwu Academy is!"
Zhang Xuan had intended to ask about the location of Tianwu Academy so that he could gather a few more students to groom in one go, but he ended up forgetting about this matter. His only choice was to return to the city to look around.
Soon, he was once again back in the capital.
This time round, with no one stalking him, he was able to conduct his inquires freely.
Tianwu Academy was where the talents of the capital were gathered, hence nearly everyone knew about it.
Thus, it didn"t take long before he found out about its approximate location.
It was actually in the vicinity of the Master Teacher Pavilion, near the center of the city. To travel there by foot would take three to four hours.
Upon hearing that it was so far away, Zhang Xuan dropped his plan of finding a student today.
When he first arrived at Tianwu Kingdom, the sun had already set. Eating dinner, competing with Ji Mo, and reading books had taken up more than two hours of his time and, after which, he dealt with the "a.s.sa.s.sins" and accepted Jiang Shu as his student, taking up another two hours of his time. With reference to the time system used in his previous life, it was already nearing eleven o"clock.
Even if he were to rush over now, everyone would have been asleep by the time he arrived. If he were to sneak into the academy compounds in the middle of the night to solicit some students... Others might just think that he was some corpse who had climbed out from his grave and bury him back in.
"I leave this for tomorrow. For the time being, I’d better look for a place to rest for the night!"
After a long journey here, as well as the painter compet.i.tion, fighting, and feigning as an expert, he had long been drained of energy.
"Un? [Tianwu Inn]? Alright, I"ll stay here!"
After looking around the streets for a short while, an inn appeared before Zhang Xuan and he walked right in.
The inn was wide and clean, and after finding out at the receptionist that there was an empty room available, he then chose to settle down here.
The moment he stepped into the room, a few figures rushed into the lounge.
"Is Zhao Ya not back yet?"
"Yes, Liu s.h.i.+!" w.a.n.g Ying replied apprehensively.
"Didn"t I instruct all of you to return in two hours regardless of whether you manage to find him? Why is she not back?" Liu s.h.i.+ frowned.
"All of us... split up the moment we left. We didn"t see her on our way back in, so we thought that she had already returned to her room. We then waited for her, but she didn"t come out after such a long time..." w.a.n.g Ying replied fearfully.
"Alright. Lu Xun, bring Zheng Yang to look around the east. Sun Qiang, you bring Liu Yang and Yuan Tao to search the west. w.a.n.g Ying, Huang Yu, and I go to the north. As for the south, that"s where the city gates are, so there"s no need to look around there!"
Liu s.h.i.+ instructed. "Regardless of your outcome, just like the last time, all of you must return within two hours!"
"Yes!"
Everyone nodded their heads before proceeding out of the inn.
...
Physician Bai had been on a roll lately.
Ever since he returned from Red Lotus Range, all the physicians that he met treated him with utmost respect and deference.
In fact, even the guild leader of the Physician Guild had a complete change in att.i.tude.
From an insignificant snub figure, he was now the center of attention. All of those haughty 2-star physicians from before didn"t even dare to speak loudly before him...
He was getting increasingly happy and increasingly satisfied with his new life.
"To think that getting knocked out in an alley would reap such benefits..."
Today, the guild leader even proclaimed him as his brother and drank with him. By the time he left and was back on the streets, he was already feeling very groggy.
The turning point in his life came from being knocked unconscious in the Red Lotus City.
After waking up, the att.i.tude that all the physicians had toward him changed.
He had even thought that he was dreaming.
But of course, in the past few days, he had managed to understand the situation fully.
That fellow from that day, who appeared together with Princess Mo Yu, knocked him out and saved the Great Herb King in his appearance and name.
The reason why these physicians were behaving so friendly to him was first, to be able to purchase good medicinal herb from the Great Herb King through him at a discounted price, and secondly, to find out what the Contract Gu actually was, and how it could be treated.
He was unconscious and naked in an alley throughout the entire incident, so how could he know the Great Herb King? Needless to say, the Contract Gu...
However, this change in his life didn"t come easy. He had become so highly regarded and it would be embarra.s.sing if he were to speak the truth. Wouldn’t it be likely that he would get beaten to death?
Thus, after contemplating carefully, he decided to carry on with the lie.
Whenever someone asked him about the incident with the Great Herb King, he would change the topic forcefully.
Since he was unwilling to speak, the crowd a.s.sumed that some kind of important secret was involved, so they didn"t dare to continue asking. Thus, his status grew instead.
This outcome left him thrilled. Every time he saw an alley, he would dive in expectantly in hopes that he would be knocked out again so as to gain greater prestige.
After bidding the guild leader farewell, he was on his way back to his residence all alone. Upon noticing an alley, he was just about to enter when he saw a lady walking toward him from the opposite direction.
The lady was young, her age between sixteen and seventeen, but her facial features were extraordinarily beautiful. Even Princess Mo Yu, who was reputed as the number one beauty of Tianwu Kingdom, wasn"t a match for her. He had never met such a beautiful person in his life.
He had a reputation for being lecherous, and that was the main reason why Mo Yu disregarded him then. Having pretended to be an expert for such a long time, he had already begun to feel deprived. Upon confirming that there was no one around, as well as the under the influence of alcohol, his eyes started to glow.
...
Knowing that Zhang laos.h.i.+ appeared in the Painter Guild, Zhao Ya and the others left the inn to look for him.
For greater efficiency, all of them split up to search alone.
They looked around the surrounding alleys and taverns, but there wasn"t a single sign of him.
Having just completed searching this alley, Zhao Ya was rubbing her rather exhausted eyes, intending to return to the inn before doing anything else when she saw a middle-aged man with a l.u.s.tful look on his face approaching her.
"Drinking alone is boring. Lady, do you want to accompany me for a drink?" Physician Bai blocked her path.
"Get out of my way!"
Zhao Ya frowned.
After her Pure Yin Body was activated, her appearance and disposition had become more refined. Thus, she would often meet with this kind of hara.s.sment, just that they mostly came from those of her age. Yet, upon seeing a person who was old enough to be her grandfather appearing before her, her expression became especially awful.
"What if I refuse?"
Physician Bai Chan harrumphed.
It was already close to midnight, and the bustling streets were nearly empty. Furthermore, even if there were anyone around the area, they would be hesitant to stop him once they notice his extravagant clothes.
"You"re courting death!"
Seeing how the other fellow was behaving like a rogue, Zhao Ya"s eyebrows knitted together. With a flick of her wrist, a sword appeared in her palm.
Circulating her Pure Yin Body fully, a frigid sword qi immediately was sent straight at the fellow before her.
"You don"t know what"s good for you!"
Seeing how Zhao Ya dared to swing her sword at him, Physician Bai Chan harrumphed coldly before stepping forward.
Ding!
Zhao Ya"s sword fell into the other party"s hand.
Even though Physician Bai Chan was someone whom Zhang Xuan could knock out with a single punch, he was after all a Tongxuan realm pinnacle expert. He wasn"t someone that Zhao Ya, who had only opened two acupoints, could stand against.
"This is bad!"
Having her sword taken from her, Zhao Ya was astonished. She could tell that with her cultivation, it was impossible for her to handle this person. Thus, she dashed straight toward the inn immediately.
With the awakening of her Pure Yin Body, even though she didn’t become as fast as w.a.n.g Ying, her speed was incredible, nevertheless. She wasn"t far from the inn and once she was there, Liu s.h.i.+ would surely be able to deal with this rogue.
"Trying to escape? Do you think that I will allow you to do that?"
It wasn"t easy for him to come across such a beauty, so how could Bai Chan allow her to escape so easily? Thus, he chased after her hastily.
"Zhao Ya?"
Sprinting with all her might, Zhao Ya soon arrived at the lounge of the inn and encountered Liu s.h.i.+ and the others, who were just about to set off.
"What"s wrong?"
"What happened?"
Seeing her charge into the lounge anxiously, everyone became perplexed.
"Someone tried to take advantage of me..."
Zhao Ya pointed to the back.
At that moment, Physician Bai Chan walked into the lounge as well.
"What?"
Upon hearing that someone wanted to take advantage of her, Zheng Yang and the others flew into a rage and prepared to charge at Physician Bai Chan.
"Hold your horses!"
Seeing through the other party"s cultivation in a single glance, Liu s.h.i.+ halted them immediately.
Upon seeing the people present, a gleam flashed across Physician Bai Chan"s eyes. "It"s no wonder why you escaped so quickly, you have backups here! If so, this will make the matter much easier!"
As a cunning old wily, he had experienced such situations innumerable times, so he was able to react immediately without panicking.
"This friend, may I know, why you are chasing my student?"
He knew that Tianwu Royal City had many powerful and influential clans and that members of these clans were everywhere and could be anyone on the street. Therefore, even though was he felt angry, Liu s.h.i.+ held himself back, stepped forward, and clasped his fist.
"This young lady stole my item, so I chased her to take it back! Since you all know one another, this will make this matter easier to settle. You either can choose to return my item, or leave her for me to deal with!"
Physician Bai Chan spoke, casually gesturing with his hand.
"Stole your item? You... You"re lying!"
Not expecting that the other party would frame her as a thief after trying to take liberties with her, Zhao Ya"s face flushed in anger.
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Sword qi
This refers to a visible wave of energy from the might of a sword swing.