What Does It Have to Do With Me

Two sticks of incense later, Jiang Shuo jumped down from the Plum Blossom Stakes, sat on the stone steps, and slapped his sore thighs.

Feng En, as the Eldest Senior Brother of the Hundred Flowers Sect, was busy with affairs. After instructing Li Zicheng on a few basic stances, he left on his own.

Seeing this, Sun Man signaled the disciples to rest for a while, then walked out of the side courtyard himself. Before leaving, he cast a meaningful glance at Jiang Shuo.

A bad feeling rose in Jiang Shuo's heart. Sure enough, no sooner had Sun Man left than Sun Daoming brought a few friends over to surround him. These so-called friends were all Sun Daoming's senior brothers, but knowing his status, they stooped to hang around with him.

Jiang Shuo stopped massaging his muscles, looked up at the hostile crowd, and said, "What do you want?"

"Simple. I just want you to stay away from Miss Yu from now on." Sun Daoming stood before Jiang Shuo, chin raised, looking down on him.

His friends frowned slightly. This behavior was a bit childish—it seemed Sun Daoming really had no experience in the Jianghu. Their self-control was far stronger than his. Though they also admired Yu Yuhan, in the Jianghu, martial arts naturally came first.

His guess confirmed, Jiang Shuo curled his lips slightly, spread one palm in front of him, and said disdainfully, "What I do—what's it to you?"

Sun Daoming's face changed in an instant. He stared hard at Jiang Shuo and snarled, "You just happened to be Miss Yu's assistant and scraped together a bit of fame. A man should know his place. A toad will never taste swan meat, after all."

"If I remember right, the last person who said I didn't know my place was called Chen Zhiqing." Jiang Shuo met Sun Daoming's gaze without a trace of fear.

I don't mind you chasing Yu Yuhan, but interfering with my normal life—that's absolutely not allowed.

During the selection, when Jiang Shuo clashed with Chen Zhiqing, Sun Daoming had been there too. As far as he knew, Chen Zhiqing had caught smallpox and spent a night screaming miserably in Yu Yuhan's courtyard—probably wishing he were dead.

Sun Daoming's face grew uglier. He hadn't expected Jiang Shuo to be such a tough nut, but no matter how hard, for Yu Yuhan's sake, he had to crack it. "If it weren't for Elder Bian, Martial Uncle Feng, and the others, you'd have been beaten to death by Chen Zhiqing long ago. You didn't do a thing, yet you preen yourself on others' achievements—that alone shows your character."

"Ridiculous. When I seized Chen Zhiqing to report the epidemic and broke into the County Office, where were you? When I lived in a cave dwelling with the Disaster Victims to control the disease, where were you? When I charged through the city gates alone to save people and fought my way into the Hundred Flowers Sect, where were you?" Jiang Shuo's words came faster and heavier. At the end, he suddenly stood up, thrusting his face close to Sun Daoming's. "You keep accusing me of bad character. As I see it, you're just jealous of talent, belittling others' achievements to puff up your own vanity. A narrow-minded man like you—even if every man in Yulin died, Miss Yu wouldn't give you a second glance."

Since the other party had openly insulted Jiang Shuo, he wouldn't hold back either. Since you love Yu Yuhan so much, I'll use her to curse you.

Sure enough, after that speech, Sun Daoming's face turned purple, veins bulging at his temples. "You, you..."

He stammered for a while, unable to refute. Frustrated, he threw a heavy punch at Jiang Shuo's chin.

"Slap!" Jiang Shuo had expected him to strike. He raised a hand and caught the fist firmly in his palm.

Sun Daoming strained with all his strength, but his fist was clamped tight as if by iron pincers, immovable. His friends frowned, stepped forward together, and shouted, "Let go!" "Release him now!"...

Jiang Shuo gave a cold snort and released his grip without warning. Sun Daoming, who had been pulling back with all his might, stumbled and fell straight backward. If his friends hadn't caught him in time, he'd have landed flat on his rear.

"Jiang Shuo, I'll kill you!" Sun Daoming, humiliated and furious, got up to fight Jiang Shuo to the death. Just then, Li Zicheng rushed over with a sword in hand. "What do you think you're doing!"

At Li Zicheng's shout, Sun Daoming's anger cooled, and he regained some reason.

No matter how much he disliked Jiang Shuo, they were still fellow disciples. Beating him publicly would inevitably invite punishment from the sect.

"This isn't over!" Sun Daoming glared viciously at Jiang Shuo and led his friends away.

Jiang Shuo shrugged, unconcerned, and turned his head to ask Li Zicheng, "Didn't you say you were unclear on a move or two and went to ask Master? Why are you back so soon?"

Li Zicheng gave a sly "hehe," grabbed Jiang Shuo, and ran.

Jiang Shuo was baffled, constantly asking what they were doing. Li Zicheng only said mysteriously, "You'll know when we get there."

Li Zicheng dragged Jiang Shuo through the corridor all the way to the main hall's entrance.

"Isn't this just the meeting place? What's there to see?" Jiang Shuo asked curiously. Li Zicheng whirled around, pressed a finger to his lips, and made a shushing gesture. Then he pressed himself against the wall and crept toward the door. When he reached it, he crouched down, poked his head out, and peered inside. After a while, he remembered to turn and wave at Jiang Shuo, his face slightly flushed with satisfaction.