Self-Protection

The Old Monk had changed even more than before he left home.

Liang Qu thought to himself.

Before leaving home.

When the Old Monk ate meat, it had seemed more like an act of experimentation. Now, he had put somewhat more genuine feeling into it.

Hopefully, he would become a Martial Saint soon.

Coming back to himself.

"Master, what do you mean by 'weak'?"

Su Guishan was likewise puzzled. "Southern Border and Northern Court have always been the court's two greatest adversaries. Northern Court is strong, while the south is strange, with all manner of ferocious creatures emerging one after another. The soldiers are run ragged dealing with them. How could it be called weak?"

"This weakness is not that Gu is weak."

"I'm all ears."

The Old Monk set down his wooden chopsticks.

"Back when this old monk traveled through Ancient Shu, I once went to a small village beside the Qingyi River. The villagers all spread word that a woman brought doom upon her husband. Less than seven days after their wedding, her husband went into the mountains to gather herbs, fell from a cliff, and died. Thus, she became a woman loathed by all who saw her.

"Yet when I read her features, I saw that the woman whose husband had died had a lovely, fair face, high cheekbones with flesh upon them, a small mouth and even teeth, willow-leaf brows, thick earlobes, and clear eyes. She plainly had an excellent face that brought prosperity to her husband."

"Oh?"

Liang Qu and Su Guishan pricked up their ears.

There was a hidden story? "After this old monk questioned her closely, I learned that her husband's death came because, after the wedding, he found himself unequal to the task. Angry and ashamed, he refused to heed her attempts