Song of the Smiling, Proud Wanderer

Seeing Madam Liu about to die, Hao Shuai directly used his Psychic Power to control a chopstick, knocking away the long sword and saving Madam Liu.

Hao Shuai didn't care much about Liu Zhengfeng's life or death. Since he had entered the Martial World, he should be prepared to be killed at any time.

Moreover, as one of the influential figures of the Hengshan Sect, he actually made enemies because of music, wholeheartedly wanting to retire and live in harmony, neglecting the Hengshan Sect. This was rather irresponsible.

What's more, he hadn't handled the aftermath properly, was caught in a compromising situation, and was so pedantic that he admitted to colluding with enemies, implicating his family and disciples to suffer.

Such a person's life or death had nothing to do with Hao Shuai. In fact, if Hao Shuai was in a bad mood, he wouldn't mind sending him on his way. However, he greatly admired Mi Weiyi's righteousness and the resilience of his family just now.

The most important thing was that Hao Shuai really couldn't stand Fei Bin and Ding Mian. They were the type to wield power like a petty official and act all high and mighty. Seeing them made Hao Shuai want to find an excuse to kill them, so he had to get involved in this matter no matter what.

"Heh, the Songshan School, what a grand name! You dare to openly annihilate a family." Hao Shuai said with a hint of sarcasm.

Everyone present followed the sound and saw Hao Shuai standing in a corner by the entrance.

"Who are you to dare interfere in the affairs of our Five Great Sword Sects? Do you know Liu Zhengfeng colluded with the Demonic Cult? If you help him, you will be an enemy of the righteous path of the world. Are you sure you want to do this?" Ding Mian sized up Hao Shuai. Although he didn't recognize Hao Shuai, he knew he was a master from his earlier hidden weapon technique. He immediately slapped a big label on him.

"Since when did the Songshan School represent the righteous path? Since when did Zuo Lengchan become the leader of the martial world? Besides, what does it matter to be an enemy of the righteous path? To me, killing you is like killing chickens," Hao Shuai said slowly.

"Arrogant! If you want to kill us, I'll destroy you first!" Seeing Hao Shuai's arrogant tone, Ding Mian's anger erupted. He leaped forward, pushed his palms out, and attacked Hao Shuai.

Hao Shuai looked at Ding Mian, who was in mid-air, with a hint of mockery in his eyes. He flicked out a chopstick.

Whoosh!

The bamboo chopstick cut through the air. Under the control of Psychic Power, it was like an arrow shot from a bowstring, hurtling towards Le Hou's head.

Ding Mian, in mid-air, watched the incoming chopstick. A hint of a sneer flashed in his eyes. As far as he was concerned, his senior brother Zuo Lengchan's Internal Energy hadn't even reached the point where scattered leaves and flowers could inflict harm, let alone this brat who still had milk on his lips. The previous act of knocking away the long sword with a chopstick was likely a clever hidden weapon trick. His own Internal Energy was profound, and he could easily block the chopstick. He slapped his right palm, and a surge of powerful True Qi erupted, intending to knock the chopstick down.

But when he came into contact with the chopstick, Ding Mian realized the immense force contained within it was beyond his ability to resist. A look of fear suddenly rose in his eyes. Then, his vision went black, and Ding Mian lost consciousness.

Ch! Ch! Bang!

Blood splattered, and Ding Mian fell to the ground, lifeless. The crowd saw that Ding Mian's right hand was pierced by the chopstick, and a bamboo chopstick was stuck in the center of his forehead. Only a third of the chopstick remained outside, and blood flowed profusely from his brow, a truly gruesome sight.

"Senior Brother Ding Mian..." The people from the Songshan School cried out in alarm upon seeing Ding Mian's death. They rushed to his side, looking at Hao Shuai with shocked anger.

"What, not convinced? Want revenge? Then go down and accompany him!" Hao Shuai was too lazy to argue with the Songshan School. He threw out several more chopsticks and controlled them to shoot towards Fei Bin.

This was a way of using Psychic Power that Hao Shuai had learned from the Assassin's Alliance, allowing him to control multiple objects simultaneously.

Fei Bin saw the incoming chopsticks and quickly drew his sword, attempting to deflect them. However, the chopsticks directly swerved, bypassed Fei Bin's long sword, and shot straight into Fei Bin's forehead.

Fei Bin was dead!

Immediately after, the other members of the Songshan School followed suit, meeting the same fate as Fei Bin.

In just a few minutes, only one person was left from the Songshan School contingent. In an instant, the entire Liu Mansion fell silent. Everyone stared at Hao Shuai with terrified expressions, having never witnessed such an unbelievable method of killing before.

If Hao Shuai knew what they were thinking, he would definitely scorn their lack of knowledge, not even investigating that the leader of the Demonic Cult, Dongfang Bubai, liked to stab people with needles.

Hao Shuai looked at the last remaining henchman of the Songshan School and directly told them, "Scram back to the Songshan School. Also, tell Zuo Lengchan that I'll be coming to have tea with him."

Upon hearing that he wouldn't die, the henchman felt as if he had been granted a great pardon. He turned and fled the Liu Mansion without a second thought.

Hao Shuai turned to face the righteous cultivators who were spectating in the hall. He slowly exerted his Psychic Power, pressing down on them, and asked, "I killed people from the Songshan School, aren't you esteemed righteous sects going to come and eliminate this demon?"

At this moment, only sect leaders with relatively deep Internal Energy, like Yue Buqun and Abbess Dingyi, could barely resist the Psychic Power. The other disciples were already pinned to the floor, unable to move.

The heroes in the hall couldn't help but have a herd of mythical creatures stampeding through their minds: "Eliminate the demon? Who's eliminating whom!"

At this moment, Liu Zhengfeng stepped forward, bowed slightly to Hao Shuai, and said, "Thank you, young hero, for your assistance. However, the Songshan School is tyrannical. I hope you will be careful in the future to avoid their retaliation."

"The Songshan School? I'll make sure they don't have the chance to think of me."

A dismissive voice rang out. Hao Shuai withdrew his Psychic Power and said, "As for assistance? Don't flatter yourself! I just purely disliked their arrogance."

"Uh..."

Liu Zhengfeng's face was a little awkward, but he forced a smile.

Hao Shuai, too lazy to bother with the crowd in the hall getting back up, turned and shouted towards the entrance, "Qu Yang, you've been watching the show for long enough. If you don't come in now, I'll kill Liu Zhengfeng."

As soon as he finished speaking, a dark figure leaped down from the roof. A handsome middle-aged man landed in front of Liu Zhengfeng and the others.

"Brother Qu!" Liu Zhengfeng exclaimed upon seeing the newcomer and excitedly stepped forward, grabbing Qu Yang's arm.

"Brother Liu!" Qu Yang also affectionately supported Liu Zhengfeng and said, "It's all because of me that your disciples and wife almost suffered disaster. Brother Qu, I'm sorry!"

"Brother Qu, in my life, having one true friend like you is enough. You don't need to feel bad!" Liu Zhengfeng grabbed Qu Yang's hand and comforted him sincerely.

"Good brother!" Qu Yang looked at Liu Zhengfeng with deep emotion.

Hao Shuai couldn't stand watching the two of them ignore everyone else in the hall, gazing at each other affectionately, as if they were about to embrace like two bosom buddies. He directly interrupted, "Enough. I didn't call you out for you two to have this reunion of best friends."

Although Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang didn't quite understand what "best friends" meant, they knew Hao Shuai was displeased. They stopped their reminiscing.

Qu Yang cupped his hands towards Hao Shuai and said, "Thank you, young hero, for saving Brother Liu and his family. I am deeply grateful!"

"Who needs your gratitude! What good is your gratitude!" Hao Shuai retorted.

"Uh..."

Qu Yang finally understood Liu Zhengfeng's feelings from earlier. At the same time, he thought to himself: Brother, you're going to make your path in the Martial World difficult! You won't have friends in the future!

"Enough with the nonsense! I heard you collaborated to compose a piece called 'Smiling, Proud Wanderer'?" Hao Shuai asked.

"That's right. Brother Liu and I are passionate about music. After years of effort, we created the piece 'Smiling, Proud Wanderer.' We are confident that the brilliance of this piece is unprecedented in history..." When it came to the music he was most skilled in, Qu Yang's demeanor clearly changed.

"Stop, now play the song 'Smiling, Proud Wanderer' for me," Hao Shuai said.

"Young hero, for saving our lives, Brother Qu and I will play a duet to express our gratitude," Liu Zhengfeng cupped his hands and said. He then entered the inner hall, retrieved a seven-stringed zither and a bamboo flute, and handed the zither to Qu Yang.

Qu Yang took the zither and sat on the ground. He exchanged a look with Liu Zhengfeng, their eyes full of camaraderie. Qu Yang then raised his hand, and after a few resonant strums, the zither music was centered, peaceful, and extremely elegant.

Liu Zhengfeng also closed his eyes and began to play the flute. The flute's melody was gentle, gradually blending into the zither's rhythm.

After a moment, the zither and flute music merged seamlessly. The centered and peaceful zither melody, paired with the serene and moving flute music, seemed to engage in a call and response, like the tale of high mountains and flowing water, involuntarily drawing listeners into the scene.

Suddenly, the zither music grew more passionate, while the flute music became deeper. The two, when merged, drifted like wisps of smoke in the wind, continuous and unending, evoking a profound sense of emotion.

As the two men infused their internal energy into the music, the zither and flute became even more pleasing to the ear, without any discomfort. Then, the zither's melody shifted again, producing a resounding, almost martial sound, while the flute's tone remained gentle and melodious. Following this, the zither's music gradually softened, rising and falling.

After a while, the zither's melody changed once more, as if seven or eight zithers were playing simultaneously. The flute's music also transformed, its melody becoming extremely intricate and varied.

After reaching an extreme crescendo, the zither's music became mere accompaniment, while the flute's melody grew increasingly soaring, as if standing alone in the world. Only the zither and flute remained at the peak, with only the bright moon and gentle breeze, and a chill in the air, as companions.

The zither and flute music shifted again, returning to a gentle and melodious tune, as if a new vitality had emerged from a desperate situation, becoming more passionate.

After a long while, the zither and flute music gradually faded, and the two men slowly opened their eyes.

The heroes present were all captivated, listening as if in a trance. As for Hao Shuai, if asked how he liked it, he would only say it was very nice.

Forgive Hao Shuai, a man tone-deaf! It seems he needs to learn about music theory, otherwise, it would be detrimental to his scoundrel endeavors!

"Alright, we've heard the song. For the sake of this piece, I'll give you a piece of advice: go out to sea! Only by going far overseas can you truly escape the Jianghu," Hao Shuai said to Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang.

After speaking, Hao Shuai turned to leave. Before he had taken two steps, he turned back and said to Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng, "Do you have the musical score for 'Smiling, Proud Wanderer'? Give it to me!"

"That's right. We are about to live in seclusion overseas, so we no longer need this score. Please, young hero, pass it down in the future, lest it become a lost art once more," Qu Yang said, taking the score from his bosom and handing it to Hao Shuai.

"No problem," Hao Shuai said with a smile, taking the score before turning and leaving the Liu Mansion.

The reason Hao Shuai suddenly wanted the 'Smiling, Proud Wanderer' score was because he remembered that many beautiful women enjoy music. Although he himself couldn't play, he could use it to woo women!

The righteous heroes in the hall breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Hao Shuai leave, and they also bid farewell to Liu Zhengfeng. As for the Demonic Cult elder nearby, everyone chose to ignore him.

Soon, only Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng's family remained in the Liu Mansion.

"Brother Liu, quickly pack your belongings. We leave tomorrow for overseas," Qu Yang said to his good friend.

"I'll listen to you, Brother Qu."