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Like a calm lake suddenly stirred into ripples, the stalemate shattered like glass, scattering in a wretched mess.

Everyone let out a roar in unison, swinging their fists as they charged forward.

Every person held a belief in their heart that couldn't be clearer—a belief so firm, so brilliantly radiant:

Pei Ji, you brat, who do you think you're looking down on! Do you really think we can't beat those masked men? Once we finish off the bodyguards you hired, it'll be your turn to die!

They would never know when Pei Ji, who should have been the target of everyone's ire, had turned around and returned to his room, lighthearted and free of trouble.

And they would never know that once they understood the truth, their tears would fall like a torrential downpour, shattering across the ground and echoing clearly in their hearts.

In this world, there are far too many things that people do not know.

Ning Ning stared at the bill with a blank expression.

Medical fees, hiring fees, emotional distress compensation... damn it, there's even a "Peer Friendship Repair Fee"? The two groups fought tooth and nail, yet Pei Ji himself went straight back to his room to sleep—are they really trying to blame her for this?

They might as well just go out and rob someone.

[How could there be two groups?]

Ning Ning felt a splitting headache, her pen moving rapidly: [Who sent the other group?]

The other party replied quickly: [We have professional ethics; we generally don't reveal employer information easily.]

Fine, you win.

The hand holding the pen trembled slightly.

When she began to write again, every word from the young girl was filled with blood and tears: [Charge more.]

A Communication Talisman soon appeared before Ning Ning's window.

[--But if you insist, it's not impossible. Although we have professional ethics, you know, we don't actually have any morals, haha.]

She continued to read with a blank expression, her gaze falling numbly on the last three characters.

[He Zhizhou.]

It was a somewhat familiar name. Ning Ning frowned subconsciously, struggling to recall information about him from the depths of her mind.

She didn't realize it until she thought about it, and the realization gave her a shock.

In the original text, this Senior Brother He was nothing more than a background character mentioned only a few times, yet Ning Ning had a deep impression of him.

There were mainly three things.

The first reason was that he not only loved swords as if they were his life—constantly forging and buying new ones in various ways—but he also spent his days down the mountain indulging in pleasure, eating and drinking away money like water. His level of poverty was exactly the same as Tian Xianzi's.

This man's thought process was truly extraordinary. When he was destitute and being hounded by loan sharks, he actually used his last ten thousand spirit stones to buy a pile of rocks and pigments—

And personally crafted one thousand counterfeit coins.

This maneuver was already sufficiently anti-intellectual and anti-human, but to make matters worse, the creditor exposed on the spot that the one thousand spirit stones were not real.

When asked why he had resorted to counterfeiting, the blockhead replied: "Because I can't manufacture the real ones!"

The second reason was that this man had an incredibly blunt personality. If he encountered someone he didn't like, he would draw his sword immediately, regardless of who they were.

As it turned out, one day, for some unknown reason, he got into a dispute with a seven-year-old little monk at Fanyin Temple.

Followers of Buddhism emphasize a clear heart and acting only when necessary; if the enemy doesn't move, neither do they. The little monk remained in place, meditating and waiting. He didn't want to be the first to strike and bully a junior, but he also didn't want to just let it go, so he stood there with his sword, confronting the other party under the scorching sun.

Then, three hours later, he suffered heatstroke and fainted. While foaming at the mouth and delirious, he said to the little monk, "Why are you bullying me? Why?"

As for the third...

The third reason was that incident which shocked the entire sect: He Zhizhou, a disciple of the Xuanxu Sect, was so destitute that he actually went so far as to sell himself to a brothel to entertain guests, eventually becoming their top courtesan.

Someone once remarked that he possessed sword qi and should be a cultivator. That guy didn't even blush or skip a beat, spouting wild nonsense: "I am a disciple of the Wanjian Sect. You have a sharp eye, my friend!"

Never in a million years did he expect that a direct disciple of the Wanjian Sect happened to be on the scene. Without a shred of chivalry or mercy, the disciple cursed him out: "Pah! You're clearly that counterfeit-coin brother from the Xuanxu Sect!"

And so, a legendary courtesan fell from grace, and He Zhizhou of the Xuanxu Sect became famous throughout the Nine Provinces.

Recalling this, Ning Ning was dumbfounded.

How could such a terrifying person exist in this world?

He didn't do a single thing that a normal human would do!

However, although He Zhizhou was shocking and unconventional, he had very little screen time in the original text and basically had no contact with the main cast. For him to suddenly have a whim to stir up trouble now...

It was too strange.

No.

Ning Ning thought, she had to go and meet He Zhizhou.

Chapter 11

"You're asking about Senior Brother He?"

The young girl in a white dress with her hair in a bun set down the long sword in her hand and turned to look at Ning Ning. She looked no more than sixteen or seventeen, yet she kept a straight face at all times, displaying a maturity and seriousness that felt out of place for her age.

He Zhizhou was a disciple of the Yunzhongke Li Wangsheng, and he resided on Danyun Peak along with several other direct disciples.

The girl standing before Ning Ning was named Qin Shu. Not only had she broken through to the Golden Core Realm at a young age, but rumor had it that she spent the better part of every day in diligent practice, making her an undisputed standout among the younger generation.

"He is engaging in a poetry duel."

The young girl's voice was warm and gentle, but as she recited the words in a dry, perfunctory manner, it took on an indescribable air of dazed cuteness. "I can take you there."

Ning Ning nodded with a smile. "Many thanks!"

The ancient cypress trees of Danyun Peak were dense in the summer, surrounded by bamboo groves. The vast sea of forest converged into a stretch of green that touched the sky, obscuring any trace of the heavens above.

Passing through the rows of buildings where the direct disciples resided, they arrived at an ancient tree. The lush, verdant branches and leaves blocked out the sun, and beneath the towering trunk lay roots as sturdy and powerful as coiled dragons.

Groups of youths sat upon the roots, all dressed in white robes with their hair tied back, their bodies wreathed in faint, lingering Sword Qi. They were discussing something with great fervor, so Ning Ning found it inconvenient to interrupt and stopped with Qin Shu a short distance away to wait.

One of them laughed heartily. "My poem isn't bad, is it? If no one dares to challenge me, then I win today."

As soon as he finished speaking, a flurry of hushed whispers broke out across the clearing. Someone raised their voice and shouted, "What's the rush? Zhizhou hasn't even answered yet."