Butterfly Effect 2

"Which matter are you asking about? Young Hero Ji's resounding fame in the martial world?"

Yue Buqun smiled, looking at Ji Boying with a hint of teasing.

At the mention of resounding fame, Ji Boying's face darkened.

That ancient-sounding nickname was simply too awful.

"Both matters."

Linghu Chong and the other disciples did not understand which two matters Ji Boying meant, but Yue Buqun did.

"Who exactly gave me such a terrible nickname, and how did it spread?"

Shi Daizi shouted from the side.

"Junior Disciple Brother, what a majestic nickname that is. Why don't you like it?"

The senior disciples were all somewhat envious. Their junior disciple brother had only been on the mountain for a few months, yet his fame had already spread through the martial world.

But Ji Boying kept a dark face, absolutely refusing to hear others call him that.

"Wasn't it you, Young Hero Ji? Some time ago, at Spring Rain Tower below our Mount Hua, you fought eighteen assassins alone. Heads rolled, blood flowed across the ground. Your green robes were soaked through with blood, and your whole body was crimson."

"After killing, you brushed off your sleeves and left. Along that long street, you left only a winding trail of bloody footprints. What grandeur, what Sha Qi."

In truth, Old Yue had known about this nickname long ago; he simply had not told Ji Boying.

He rather wanted Ji Boying to keep his ears shut to matters beyond the window and devote his whole heart to the work of sages.

"The people of the martial world truly have uncanny means. They even dug up the fact that one of your ancestors had been a marquis, and that was how they pieced together the title Blood Robed Marquis for you."

"Ah, Master, don't mention it again."

Ji Boying frowned in agony, his face bitter as he covered his ears. He truly could not bear to hear those three words again.

Shu Qi, Ying Bailuo, and the others exclaimed in amazement.

"Junior Disciple Brother's ancestors even produced a marquis?"

Ji Boying waved a hand casually.

"My family has passed down farming and scholarship for who knows how many centuries. A few somewhat accomplished scholars emerged and earned a little rank and title—it's nothing remarkable."

"In any case, it was all several centuries ago. It truly isn't worth mentioning."

Having figured out where his awful nickname came from, Ji Boying asked, "Then what is going on with this Fuwei Escort Agency? Why have these goods been sent all the way up Mount Hua?"

As the Senior Disciple Brother, Linghu Chong now displayed a fair bit of responsibility. The four months on Cliff of Contemplation had tempered his character, and he now appeared much steadier and more reserved.

"Master, Fuwei Escort Agency seems to be a major escort agency from Fujian, doesn't it? The few men Chief Guard Zhang brought all speak with southern accents. Isn't it rather too far for them to come all the way here?"

Linghu Chong's growing concern for the Mount Hua Sect's mundane affairs greatly pleased Yue Buqun. He nodded, then gestured for Ji Boying to explain.

"From what I know, this Fuwei Escort Agency has quite an impressive background. It was founded by Lin Yuantu, who once relied on the Seventy-Two Styles of the Bixie Swordplay to sweep through both the righteous and underworld factions. It has now been passed down into Lin Zhennan's hands."

As Ji Boying recalled the intelligence regarding Fuwei Escort Agency, he explained it to his senior brothers while sorting through the discrepancies with his memories.

"Lin Zhennan also enjoys considerable fame in the martial world, but his martial arts are rather unremarkable. He is open and forthright in his dealings and values personal ties above all else, so he knows people everywhere and has connections in every direction. Everyone gives him some face."

"Though his martial arts are nothing special, his ability to run an escort agency surpasses his forebears. Lin Yuantu's martial arts won Fuwei Escort Agency a foundation across four provinces, but Lin Zhennan expanded the agency into six provinces, including Lu and Ji. He is still in his prime, yet he covets Shu after gaining Long, always thinking of opening up the route into Sichuan."

Ji Boying frowned and said in puzzlement, "But from what I know, he sends gifts every year to both Mount Emei and the Qingcheng Sect. Mount Emei never accepts them, while the Qingcheng Sect will not even grant them an audience. The route into Sichuan has yet to be opened, so why have they come to our Shaanxi?"

The disciples were still immersed in thoughts of the vast enterprise that was Lin Zhennan's Fuwei Escort Agency.

Doing business across ten provinces—what extravagance that was.

Yue Buqun, however, cleared up Ji Boying and Linghu Chong's confusion.

"While speaking with Chief Guard Zhang just now, I learned that he too harbors considerable resentment toward the Qingcheng Sect. In previous years, they sent many gifts there, but the Qingcheng Sect was always exceedingly rude. They stopped them halfway up the mountain and did not even allow them to glimpse the sect gates. Yet for some unknown reason, Yu Canghai accepted all those gifts this year."

What was the Qingcheng Sect plotting?

Ji Boying could not understand why such a change had occurred. Could it be the Butterfly Effect caused by him? But what had he done? At most, he had fought desperately against that group of assassins at the foot of the mountain.

"The Qingcheng Sect is also one of the renowned righteous sects under heaven. Even if they did not wish to accept gifts from Fuwei Escort Agency, why were they so rude?"

As the saying went, one did not strike a smiling face with an outstretched hand. That was precisely why Lin Zhennan's business prospered.

But why had the Qingcheng Sect suddenly become so rude for no reason?

Ji Boying said, "Back then, Lin Yuantu once crossed swords with Changqingzi, Yu Canghai's master. Changqingzi was narrow-minded. Victory and defeat were natural in a contest, yet he could not accept it. He actually died young, brooding over it until it angered him to death."

Ah... Linghu Chong opened his mouth, but did not know what to say.

If it stemmed from a grievance against his master, then it was understandable that Yu Canghai would not show Fuwei Escort Agency a pleasant face.

This truly could not be considered Fuwei Escort Agency's fault.

Victory and defeat were commonplace in battle. Changqingzi had been narrow-minded—whom could he blame but himself?

As Changqingzi's disciple, Yu Canghai naturally would not resent his own master for being narrow-minded.

He could only accept the matter as it was, let out a long sigh, and refrain from judging its right and wrong.

If he still blamed the Fuwei Escort Agency for it, then that really would be...

"Th-this... Master Yu is being a little too... too small-minded, isn't he?"

Ji Boying said with a soft laugh.

"They really are cut from the same cloth."

Yue Buqun had never wished to listen to this sort of gossip behind others' backs. If any of his other disciples had dared discuss others like this, he would certainly have rebuked them. But since Ji Boying was merely offering an evaluation, he said nothing.

Ji Boying could more or less piece together what had happened.

Yu Canghai's changes in attitude toward the Fuwei Escort Agency ultimately still revolved around the Bixie Sword Manual.

And the only difference between the current situation and the original story was himself.

Coupled with the immense name he had recently made for himself in the martial world, the Fuwei Escort Agency had even sent gifts up Mount Hua.

Ji Boying vaguely felt that Yu Canghai must have sensed pressure from Mount Hua Sect's impending rise.

Although Mount Hua Sect and the Qingcheng Sect were not enemies, watching another sect flourish like wind and water, with its younger generation standing head and shoulders above the crowd, Yu Canghai would naturally feel pressured. Perhaps, without even realizing it, he had begun wanting to speed up his own progress.