The Bamboo Swordsman

"So you agree."

Evening. The tavern.

Bandit Brother nodded and looked at the attendant who had delivered the message.

"You go back once more and tell my brother Zhu that I'm inviting him to drink with me five days from now."

Bandit Brother and the Bamboo Swordsman were on good terms.

This time, another unfamiliar Post-Heaven Great Accomplishment expert had arrived.

So Bandit Brother wanted to find an acquaintance to come and help hold down the fort.

However, after leaving the tavern, the attendant searched all over the north side of town and still couldn't find the Bamboo Swordsman.

Evening.

The Liu Family.

In a small pavilion in the rear courtyard.

At that moment, a tall, white-haired old man was sitting there.

A bamboo sword scabbard was strapped to his back. His aloof bearing carried a chilling, awe-inspiring sharpness.

Even as he sat in the pavilion talking with Patriarch Liu, he gave off an intense sense of oppression.

This was none other than the Bamboo Swordsman, ranked third in town.

"Senior Zhu, please!"

Facing this expert, Patriarch Liu rose to offer him tea with obsequious politeness.

"Mm." The Bamboo Swordsman merely raised his eyelids slightly and sipped his tea at his leisure. "Shopkeeper Liu, Ruyi Star has already told me about this matter. I know about Chen Guan as well."

At that, his expression turned disdainful, and an unmistakable jealousy showed through.

"These past two days, everyone in town has been talking about him.

A brilliant young talent at seventeen?

Hmph!

A mere brat, relying on a bit of martial prowess, actually thinks no one can do anything to him?

I'd like to see what he's really capable of!"

"Exactly!" Patriarch Liu piled on. "He only killed some bandits who knew a few fist techniques, and people call him a martial arts master?

When all's said and done, he's just a half-grown child!"

As he spoke, Patriarch Liu bowed and scraped as he addressed the Bamboo Swordsman.

"How could he compare to Senior Zhu, whose name has been renowned for years?

I say he's nothing but a fraud!

Even ten Chen Guans together wouldn't withstand a single finger of yours!"

"Mm..." The Bamboo Swordsman was in high spirits after hearing such flattery.

But to avoid making himself seem too arrogant,

he quickly collected himself and said seriously:

"Shopkeeper Liu, you overstate it.

If people in town keep talking about that brat, he must have some ability.

If I wanted to deal with him, I'd have to use at least a tenth of my true strength."

"Thank you, Senior!" Hearing the Bamboo Swordsman's unspoken meaning, Patriarch Liu realized that he intended to deal with Chen Guan. Delighted, he said, "Senior, I'll have someone prepare some tea at once. First, let me offer you a cup of tea for a victorious start!"

As he spoke, Patriarch Liu clapped his hands lightly. The bookkeeper waiting outside the pavilion entered with a tray covered in red cloth.

"Please have some tea, Senior." Patriarch Liu gestured for the Bamboo Swordsman to lift the cloth.

The Bamboo Swordsman raised an eyebrow, then curiously lifted the red cloth.

The next moment, a fine piece of emerald-green jade came into view.

Patriarch Liu knew that the Bamboo Swordsman liked precious jade, so he had offered him exactly what he wanted.

"This tea..."

When the Bamboo Swordsman saw the jade pendant, worth more than three hundred taels, he picked it up with both hands and examined it in the light of the setting sun.

A short while later,

the Bamboo Swordsman's earlier coldness was gone. Smiling, he nodded.

"This tea is excellent—emerald-green, with a lingering fragrance that leaves a fine taste in the mouth.

It's plain to see that Patriarch Liu is a fellow tea lover!"

"As long as Senior likes it!" Seeing how reluctant the Bamboo Swordsman was to put the jade down, Patriarch Liu pointed toward the outskirts of town. "There's also a cup of celebratory tea at the pavilion outside West Town, the third one out.

I'll send someone to warm the tea for you there.

Once you've returned victorious, you can savor that cup of red tea at your leisure."

"Good!" The Bamboo Swordsman nodded with great satisfaction. He didn't ask what the final "red tea" was.

He figured Patriarch Liu wouldn't dare pass off some ordinary red tea water as a gift.

"It's probably fine red agate..."

The Bamboo Swordsman mused as he continued to admire the jade pendant, liking it more and more.

Even without the red agate to come, the pendant alone was already worth it.

After all, jealousy had gotten the better of him, and he had intended to kill Chen Guan anyway.

Now he was getting extra money on top of that. It couldn't be better.

Besides, a fight between martial artists in town would surely alert the authorities.

After killing someone, the Bamboo Swordsman would naturally have to flee.

And fleeing required travel money.

Patriarch Liu had dealt with martial artists before and knew how best to arrange things.

They understood each other without a word. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

What's more, Patriarch Liu was a businessman, and in the meantime, he had begun laying plans for the future.

"Through this business with Chen Guan, perhaps I can make the acquaintance of a renowned Post-Heaven expert...

"And through him, I can get to know the proprietor of Yanhe Pavilion.

"That proprietor has connections far and wide. He's no ordinary man.

"If I can befriend him, then no matter how much I spend today, it'll be worth it."

As Patriarch Liu made his calculations, he felt that everything was going smoothly.

At the same time,

after glancing at the Bamboo Swordsman, who was still admiring the jade pendant, he smiled and bowed deeply, hiding his true intentions behind that smile.

"Then I'll wish Senior victory right here and now!"

"Hahaha!" The Bamboo Swordsman roared with laughter. "Today, I'll show you what it means to get something done with a mere flick of the wrist!"

Late at night.

The Zhao Family's rear courtyard.

Chen Guan sat meditating in his room, regulating his breath and absorbing the Fire Attribute spiritual energy in the air as he continued opening up his dantian qi sea.

That was how cultivation worked. It was a task like grinding an iron rod into a needle.

Just then,

Chen Guan's big ears twitched. He seemed to hear light footsteps on the street thirty meters away.

The footsteps gradually quickened and kept drawing closer to him.

Hearing them, Chen Guan rose from his cultivation.

"Although I haven't opened the meridians and acupoints in my ears, this may be a 'side effect' of the bear's legacy. And since I've started cultivating, my hearing is already beyond that of ordinary experts.

"Another Post-Heaven Great Accomplishment expert probably wouldn't hear these Lightness Skill footfalls."

As he thought, Chen Guan channeled a small amount of spiritual energy into his legs. Taking even lighter steps, he crossed the room in one or two strides and reached the wall in the courtyard.

At that moment,

the Bamboo Swordsman had also reached the wall outside. There was only a single wall between him and Chen Guan.

But the Bamboo Swordsman had no idea. Instead, he was secretly restoring his inner force.

"With my strength and a midnight assassination, even if he's a genius, tonight will be his last.

"The martial world is a treacherous place.

"Today, Senior Zhu will teach you, you young upstart, a lesson. You'll learn that a tree that towers above the forest is the first to be struck by the wind."

The Bamboo Swordsman was full of confidence, but he also knew that even a lion used all its strength to catch a rabbit.

Ambushing a genius was a fine approach.

But before he could finish restoring his inner force and reach his peak condition,

crash—

With a thunderous boom,

the wall before him suddenly exploded. As rocks and bricks blasted through the air, a hand as large as an ordinary person's head reached for him!

"Damn!"

The Bamboo Swordsman couldn't dodge in time. Stones struck his face like flying swords, leaving a series of wounds.

Fortunately, he had plenty of experience in life-and-death fights. At the last possible moment, he stumbled back several steps, then drew the long sword from his back as Chen Guan's hand swept past.

He didn't counterattack. He ran.

From that burst of strength alone, he knew he wasn't a match for this Little Qilin.

"He... he's definitely reached Great Accomplishment!

"And his physique is extraordinary. Ordinary martial artists can't afford to clash with him head-on..."

The Bamboo Swordsman panicked. He felt he'd provoked a young martial hero who was not to be trifled with.

Rumble~

Seeing that his first move had failed to seize the man, Chen Guan squeezed through the huge hole in the wall. He brought down the already tottering, cracked wall as he came through.

The commotion drew the gazes of the few townsfolk still on the street.

At that moment,

Chen Guan emerged and immediately gave chase, with no intention of letting the man go.

The Bamboo Swordsman kept running without looking back.

Both were old hands in the martial world. They knew that with such an obvious scene of an "ambush turning into a counterattack," there was no use in trying to explain.

"Th-that's... the Bamboo Swordsman?"

"The other one... Little Qilin Chen Guan?"

"They seem to be fighting..."

The passersby saw the chase and the Bamboo Swordsman's bloodied, panicked appearance. They could only tell that the two men had come to blows.

Now, it looked as if the veteran expert, Senior Bamboo Swordsman, had been badly wounded.

His face was streaked with blood, making him look as if he were on his last legs.

"Is Young Hero Chen really that powerful? He actually forced Senior Bamboo into such a sorry state..."

A few young heroes with sharp eyes were also on the street. Seeing Chen Guan chase after an elder like this, they looked astonished.

"The Bamboo Swordsman?"

Hearing the people on the street cry out, Chen Guan realized who the man sneaking around and trying to ambush him was.

He was a veteran Post-Heaven Great Accomplishment expert.

But knowing that didn't make a difference.

Chen Guan kept running and sped up. After chasing for over a hundred meters, he finally caught up with the Bamboo Swordsman.

Then, the next moment,

when the Bamboo Swordsman felt the gust of force behind him, he used the last of his strength, released his inner force through his legs, and leaped five zhang to the left.

His strength was now spent, and he hadn't yet recovered.

But he had opened up some distance, giving him time to beg for mercy. "Young hero, spare me! Spare me! This old fool was confused and got used by someone else!

"I've always admired you, young hero!"

Seeing that he couldn't get away,

the Bamboo Swordsman decided to try talking his way out.

But he didn't dare claim that he'd come to pay a visit, nor did he dare tell too many lies. Now he could only mix half-truths with half-lies.

From the decisiveness of Chen Guan's attack alone,

he knew Chen Guan was a seasoned martial artist who wouldn't be easy to fool.

"Used?"

Chen Guan quickly closed in and stood before him. His imposing frame made the Bamboo Swordsman unconsciously take half a step back.

The others on the street saw that there seemed to be bad blood between them. They didn't dare speak loudly; they only backed away quietly and listened.

"Someone sent you?" Chen Guan ignored the people around them and asked briefly, "Who?"

"Shopkeeper Liu of the Liu Family Rice Shop!"

The Bamboo Swordsman blurted it out to save his life. "And Ruyi Star!

"And they were the ones who deliberately arranged that business with the bandits who targeted your family..."

"What? The Liu Family colluded with bandits?" The people around them frowned when they heard this. They hadn't expected the Liu Family to have dealings with bandits.

"The Liu Family, Ruyi Star?" Chen Guan pondered for a few breaths, then continued questioning the Bamboo Swordsman. "Where are they?"

"I don't know where Ruyi Star is," the Bamboo Swordsman replied in a panic. "Patriarch Liu is at his residence."

"Mm."

Chen Guan nodded. The next moment, he snatched the long sword from the man's hand. The swordlight drew a cold, clear crescent moon beneath the lanterns on either side, and he swept it backhanded, cutting off the Bamboo Swordsman's head.

Thud—

His body and head hit the ground, and the emerald-green jade pendant at his waist shattered into pieces.

"Thank you, Senior. I understand. I'll send them to join you now."