Yanjing City (Part 1)

"When will the bright moon appear? I'll drink and ask the blue sky..." Creak, creak...

Strange noises mingled together. Several elderly men, riding horses with dark, claw-like hands, looked helplessly at the fellow who was shouting and yelling while gnawing on a frozen radish. The Dragon Spring Sword, worth a thousand gold pieces, was stuck in the floorboard of the carriage, while the frozen radish, worth only a copper coin, was held carefully by him. He scraped the radish skin with the sharp sword edge, revealing the clean white flesh inside. Li Feng muttered, "Wonderful! As expected of a sword bought for a thousand taels of silver, it's so sharp for peeling radishes. Hey, it'll be useful for skinning wild chickens and rabbits when we're barbecuing in the wild."

Little Li sat beside Li Feng, gritting his teeth and whispering furiously, "Li Feng, you, you, you, you saw this sword and immediately asked the master to buy it, saying you are an outstanding swordsman. Does a swordsman treat his own sword like this? You can actually use a precious sword to peel radishes? I, Little Li, don't believe you're a swordsman." As he spoke, Little Li was trembling with anger. He was Zhao Xi's personal supervisor. He could spend eighty thousand taels of silver on a pearl, but he felt it was a terrible waste for Zhao Xi to buy Li Feng a sword worth a thousand taels.

Li Feng grinned and handed the radish in his hand to Little Li, saying, "Ah, try it, try this frozen radish. It's crisp and sweet, not mealy at all. It's guaranteed to be delicious. Sigh, I wonder if they sell such good radishes in Yanjing. Are there many Chinese cabbages in the north? Those Chinese cabbages don't suit my taste."

Little Li's eyes twitched with anger, "Ah, you like eating radishes and are afraid you won't have any in the north? So you bought two thousand catties of radishes to take with you? You, you, you, two thousand catties of radishes! When we get back to Yanjing, people will think our master is a radish vendor. Is this how you do things? For those radishes, we had to hire two more carriages, and now our journey is delayed. Do you know that?"

Li Feng grinned and said nothing. He pulled out the Dragon Spring Sword, still with radish peel and juice clinging to its edge, and performed a sword flourish. With a series of 'swish, swish, swish' sounds, a flowing stream of sword light formed a mountain-like sword screen in front of Li Feng. It was the 'Overlapping Peaks' from the Mount Hua Seven Absolutes. Li Feng's swordplay was clumsy and his movements were extremely unpracticed, causing the old men nearby to shake their heads and smile bitterly. Was this considered an outstanding swordsman? However, Li Feng's sword edge actually produced a sword gleam several inches long, which made the old men's hearts tremble, and they no longer dared to underestimate Li Feng.

Even if his swordsmanship was poor, this kid's internal energy control was top-notch. Judging by the sword gleam, some swordsmen might not have Li Feng's level of mastery even after twenty years of hard practice.

Little Li was also a connoisseur. After seeing Li Feng's extremely crude (swordsmanship) yet incredibly profound (internal energy) sword strike, he wisely shut his mouth. He pondered in his heart, "Oh dear, this brat must have learned his swordsmanship by stealing. It's clearly a great sword technique, yet he uses it like this. However, his internal energy is... perhaps not as good as those old guys, but it's at least ten times better than mine, Little Li."

Blinking his eyes, Little Li felt a surge of happiness, "Oh, isn't this perfect? I am the master's supervisor, and he is a master recruited by the master. In the future, when there's a need for fighting, I'll just let this kid Li Feng handle it. If I, Little Li, were to personally handle it, wouldn't that lower my status?" Thinking this, Little Li felt incredibly relieved, and his gaze towards Li Feng was filled with warmth and affection, making Li Feng's skin crawl. He involuntarily shifted his backside to the side.

Zhao Xi, reeking of alcohol, lifted the carriage curtain and poked his head out, swaying his head, and asked, "Ah, have we reached Yanjing yet?"

Little Li gave a wry smile, "Master, we've only just left Hangzhou Prefecture, how could we have reached Yanjing? You drank too much last night, you should rest now."

Li Feng grabbed a wine jar and handed it to Zhao Xi, smiling, "Shopkeeper, have a drink to sober up. Heh heh, if you're still hungover, a couple of sips in the morning can cure it."

Zhao Xi nodded, took the small two-jin jar, tilted his head and downed two gulps. He shook his head and carried the wine jar back into the carriage. Little Li wore a wry smile, "Sigh, Li Feng, let me tell you, when we get back to Yanjing, you and the master can't drink like this anymore. Be careful if the old master finds out you're indulging in drinking and merrymaking all day, he'll hold you accountable... Also, since we both serve the same master now, I, Little Li, am reminding you, all those 'young master,' 'this old man,' 'damn it,' 'motherfucker' words you use, you should forget them quickly."

Li Feng tilted his head, casually grabbed a corner of cloth, wiped his precious sword, and sheathed it amidst Little Li's angry scolding. He then tossed the cloth piece – Little Li's collar – aside before asking, "Why is that? Are these words not allowed?"

Little Li shook his head and snorted coldly, "Use them? Why not? If you were just a guard in the manor, you could say whatever you wanted privately among the guards. But the people who come and go in the master's manor are all people of status, with official titles, and great reputations. You can't speak such common vulgarities in front of them. If you were in front of the old master, if you said one wrong word, it would be..." Little Li made a vicious throat-slitting gesture and stuck out his tongue.

Li Feng swallowed and asked cautiously, "Is your old master that fierce?"

Little Li looked around and said mysteriously, "That's not fierceness, that's prestige. When you see the old master with your own eyes, you won't ask such a silly question. Heh heh, as for the old master's father, oh dear, you rarely have the chance to meet him, heh heh... Eh, I, Little Li, was fortunate enough to accompany the master and meet him once, tsk tsk." Little Li shook his head and boasted, but he refused to say what his old master's father actually did, acting as if he would only reveal the secret after Li Feng begged for mercy.

Li Feng stared at Little Li expectantly for a moment, then suddenly jumped off the carriage, humming a tune as he walked towards the carriage behind, muttering, "Ah, I'm so hungry. I'll go find something to eat. Hmm, two thousand catties of radishes, twenty pairs of ham, a hundred pairs of cured chicken and duck, that's enough to eat... Oh dear, didn't I get ripped off? This whole trip, the food I bought myself will last until Yanjing, no need to go to restaurants."

Hearing Li Feng's voice, Little Li, the five old men with dark claws, and the twenty-seven sturdy middle-aged men all had dark expressions. Eating radishes all the way back to Yanjing, did Li Feng think they were rabbits? Little Li was especially frustrated. He had been happily waiting for Li Feng to ask him for information so he could reveal a little about the master and see Li Feng's astonished expression. Who knew Li Feng wouldn't even pay attention to him? How could he not be annoyed?

The carriages rumbled forward, mixed with Zhao Xi's loud shouts and Li Feng's boisterous calls from inside the carriage. The two picked up their wine jars again and began to drink heavily. Li Feng grabbed Zhao Xi's hundred-gold fan and used it like a free wooden stick, frantically knocking on the carriage window frame, creating a 'tap, tap, tap' rhythm. Meanwhile, Zhao Xi sang at the top of his lungs: "Han Zhong rode a white deer, heading west to Mount Hua. Over a thousand jade maidens, followed him in the clouds. Seeing me pass on the secret method, sincerity connects with heaven..."

Amidst Zhao Xi's loud singing, over thirty curved sabers emerged from the roadside woods and slashed towards Li Feng's carriage like a swarm of bees. The curved sabers traced erratic and unpredictable trajectories in the air. Under the reflection of the pale sun, these sabers trailed streaks of light several feet long, exuding a chilling aura, as if the entire world was enveloped in this flashing, cold, bloodthirsty brilliance.

The eyes of the five old men, riding horses no larger than donkeys with dark, claw-like hands, flashed with a hawk-like intensity as they lunged into the woods. The twenty-seven burly men, some carrying packages, some pushing wheelbarrows, some riding horses with swords, or with a small monkey perched on their shoulders, let out a roar. Simultaneously, they dropped their belongings and leaped into the air, striking out with their palms. With a loud 'whoosh,' the palm energy of the twenty-seven men formed a white wall of qi in the air, colliding with the curved sabers.

With a 'swish' sound, these strangely shaped curved sabers sliced through the qi wall with ease. After a slight arc in the air, they continued to slash towards Li Feng and Zhao Xi's carriage. One of the burly men exclaimed, "Netherworld Palace's 'Blood-Breaking Saber'! Damn it, our palm energy is useless against them!" He drew his own saber and slashed down in the air. With a 'clang,' one of the curved sabers was split in two and fell to the ground.

The other burly men realized what was happening and simultaneously drew their weapons, intercepting the nearby curved sabers. However, seven curved sabers still whistled towards the carriage. Little Li screamed, "Ah, Master, be careful!" He tightly hugged Zhao Xi, pressing him against the carriage wall, shielding Zhao Xi's body with his own.

Li Feng glanced at Little Li and muttered, "Damn it, you dare to steal my business? I was planning to please the shopkeeper like this." Li Feng raised his palm towards the sky. The carriage walls and roof immediately flew off. His Dragon Spring Sword was unsheathed, and he unleashed forty-nine consecutive strikes. 'Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish,' a series of white lights flashed. Li Feng's palm seemed to bloom like a giant white chrysanthemum. The chilling sword qi even shot out over ten feet, its power causing the nearby burly men to gasp in admiration.

Unfortunately, Li Feng's swordsmanship was truly terrible. He had never used a sword in his life. Although he had secretly learned the Mount Hua Sword Sect's 'Mount Hua Seven Absolutes Sword,' even if Li Feng was a genius, he would have to swing his sword tens of thousands of times to learn their refined sword techniques. Thus, Li Feng was seen wildly slashing his long sword at the seven rapidly approaching curved sabers, but he failed to intercept a single one. The burly men's hearts sank, and they inwardly cried, "We're doomed... If the young master is harmed, we'll all be executed."

Li Feng's handsome face contorted, his teeth clenched tightly, and his eyes widened as he roared, "Damn it, I'm a genius! This is what that old immortal Xiao Long... um, that old ghost said. How can a genius not be able to block these damned things?" A pure and potent innate True Essence was channeled into Li Feng's sword. With a series of 'crackling' sounds, Li Feng's sword emitted thunderous noises, and the sword light he unleashed instantly grew three feet longer.

In the blink of an eye, Li Feng, with brute force, swung his sword over a hundred times using the simple move 'Mountain Splitting Chop.' The most unrefined saber technique, profound internal energy, and a sharp, high-quality precious sword. The result was that the seven curved sabers were torn to shreds by Li Feng, turning into broken iron pieces that fell to the ground.

The burly men were stunned. They looked at each other and shook their heads desperately. They prided themselves on being absolutely unable to dodge Li Feng's barrage of 'Mountain Splitting Chop.' This was no longer a matter of technique; they believed that anyone among them could easily disarm Li Feng within three moves. However, when it came to internal energy, no one present dared to say they could retreat unscathed from Li Feng's furious assault. Even if Li Feng's swordsmanship was poor, his internal energy was undeniable. His sword qi could shoot out over ten feet, which was already the standard of a top swordsman in the jianghu. Even if he only knew a street performer's low-grade sword technique, once the sword qi was unleashed, ordinary experts could only surrender.

Zhao Xi broke free from Little Li's grip, tidied his clothes, jumped up, and shouted, "Good swordplay, good swordplay... Truly 'like thunder when coming, like the sea's clear light when stopping.' Little Feng, shopkeeper, I really can't see how your precious sword emits such strong light. Truly good swordplay! General Murong, who is recognized as the number one swordsman in Yanjing, is probably no match for you... Hahaha, I, Zhu... hmm, Zhao Xi, have indeed found a good helper. With your swordsmanship, what do I have to fear when traveling the world?"

Li Feng's skin was thick, extremely thick. He believed that after eighteen years of shameless training, his skin might be comparable to that of the creature called an elephant in the south. Yet, hearing Zhao Xi's praise, Li Feng's face slowly turned red. He knew that if his sword move had to be given a name, it could be called 'Wild Chop of Hua Shan, Woodcutting Sword Technique,' a complete act of desperation.

As for the discerning burly men and Little Li, their expressions were truly priceless. They looked at Li Feng's flushed face and Zhao Xi's animated gestures, and wisely chose to remain silent. Little Li lamented in his heart, "If you, Li Feng, were sensible, practice your swordsmanship quickly... My heavens, what is the master looking at? With his current swordsmanship, he dares to compare himself to General Murong? Doesn't he want our manor to lose face even more? Master, don't forget, General Murong is the second master's subordinate. If you go back to Yanjing and boast that Li Feng's swordsmanship is invincible, General Murong will likely come looking for a challenge himself, deliberately embarrassing us."

After being excited for a while, Zhao Xi unfastened the jade pendant with a coiled dragon and black pearls from his waist and threw it to Li Feng, laughing, "This treasure is for you." After saying that, he glanced at Little Li and said softly, "Little Li, you are indeed loyal, hmm." Then, he gently patted Little Li's shoulder. Little Li's body went numb, his bones felt lighter by three liang, and he quickly bowed with his hands clasped, showering Li Feng with flattery.

The sound of palm energy clashing 'bang bang' echoed from the woods. Seven burly men were thrown out by the five old men with dark claws, grinning menacingly. Each burly man had a dark claw print on his forehead, and their entire faces were smashed into pulp. They were clearly dead. Three middle-aged men, dressed more luxuriously, were being forced back into the center of the road by two of the old men with their sinister palm energy, which exuded a chilling wind.

The burly men sent by Old Zhao surrounded Zhao Xi's open carriage, while Li Feng walked towards the three middle-aged men who were still desperately resisting. He raised his hand and sent a sword strike into the sky. The sharp sword qi let out a 'crackling' sound as it broke through the air. Li Feng roared, "Hey, you three bastards, did I, Li Feng, steal your mother or kill your mother? You're using such vicious attacks, trying to kill the shopkeeper I just found? If you really kill my shopkeeper, what will I eat? What will I drink? How will I get promoted and become rich?"

Li Feng tightly gripped the jade pendant in his hand, then stuffed it into his money pouch and shouted, "You're still resisting now, damn it, do you want to end up like your subordinates, dead here? ... Honestly confess where you came from and why you attacked us. If you tell the truth, I'll let you live."

Zhao Xi's face instantly turned green. He roared menacingly, "Little Feng, once he finds out where those scoundrels are from, tell Old Zhao to kill them all! In the Great Ming Dynasty, on the land of the Great Ming, someone dares to attack me? Is there no law?" A surge of tyrannical rage erupted within him, and he began to plan how to eradicate them completely.

The three middle-aged men's hearts leaped upon seeing the sword qi Li Feng unleashed. Especially since they were already struggling to breathe under the pressure of the two old men's wicked palm energy. The poisonous gas in the palm wind had invaded them, and their True Essence was even showing signs of dissolution. Exchanging glances, one of the middle-aged men forced a bitter smile, "You've already recognized our origin, what more do you want? You injured our third young master at Chunyi Tower in Suzhou Prefecture, and he sent us to retaliate. If you are true men, you must keep your word."

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