"Nine-River Flood Dragon" Zuo Xinglie

Lan Prefecture lay to the south, Youzhou to the north, with tens of thousands of miles between them.

Normally, martial artists in Youzhou would not have known Zuo Xinglie's name.

But Skywind Rain-Listening Tower controlled intelligence throughout the martial world, so Wen Rou naturally knew of Zuo Xinglie.

There was a great river in Lan Prefecture called the Nine-Dragon River. Its waters twisted and turned through nine bends and eighteen curves, with countless bandit strongholds scattered across it. It was chaotic beyond measure.

Until more than ten years ago, when the grassroots hero Zuo Xinglie burst onto the scene, sweeping through the countless bandit strongholds along the Nine-Dragon River and declaring himself leader of the Thirty-Six Waterways Alliance.

As long as passing merchant ships paid a fee to the Thirty-Six Waterways Alliance, they could travel unimpeded along the Nine-Dragon River. Only then did the river finally become peaceful.

At the same time, however, another force on the Nine-Dragon River—the Mystic Whale Gang—came to hate Zuo Xinglie to the bone.

When the Nine-Dragon River had been in chaos, the Mystic Whale Gang had colluded with those bandits to extort merchant ships, raking in enormous profits.

Now that the forces on the Nine-Dragon River had been unified, the Mystic Whale Gang's source of income was immediately cut off. Naturally, they refused to let the matter rest.

The two sides fought fiercely for years without either gaining the upper hand. In the end, the Mystic Whale Gang pledged allegiance to the Lu Clan of Tianshui City, a major Lan Prefecture family, and with the Lu Clan's aid, finally destroyed the Thirty-Six Waterways Alliance. Zuo Xinglie died as well.

According to Skywind Rain-Listening Tower's intelligence, Zuo Xinglie was dead too. Who could have expected that he was still alive, hiding right under her nose?

If news of this got out, the Skywind Rain-Listening Tower branch in Lan Prefecture would certainly be punished.

And since she had uncovered this information, the tower would surely record it as an achievement for her—a major one at that.

At that thought, Wen Rou's heart began pounding.

Chen Yuan looked at Wen Rou with a faint smile. "This information should cover the fee for Boss Wen to help me find someone, shouldn't it?"

Wen Rou gazed at Chen Yuan with seductive eyes. "Of course. Young Master Chen has handed me such a great merit, yet this humble woman hardly knows how to repay you."

"Then repay me later. Once we find him, I'll also need to trouble Boss Wen to put on a little performance for me."

Seeing Wen Rou practically about to lean into him, Chen Yuan rose directly to his feet. "Boss Wen, then I'll take my leave first."

None of Skywind Rain-Listening Tower's intelligence agents were easy to deal with. This woman was like a rose covered in thorns.

Though she was indeed alluring and seductive, Chen Yuan wanted nothing more than a straightforward exchange of interests with her.

Wen Rou's strength had never been revealed in the original plot, but Chen Yuan suspected that her true power might even surpass Jiang Kaitai's.

Watching Chen Yuan leave so decisively, Wen Rou folded her arms across her chest. The seductive charm vanished from her face, replaced by a thoughtful, probing expression.

"Interesting. Truly interesting. Just who are you?"

The original Chen Yuan had merely been one of Jiang Kaitai's adopted sons. Within Linked Mountains City, he could naturally be considered somebody, but in the martial world as a whole, he amounted to little.

That was why Wen Rou had never paid much attention to Chen Yuan. Perhaps only when he became the Heavenly Wolf Gang's heir would she devote more ink to compiling information on him.

Who would have thought that this previously obscure Chen Yuan would give her such a tremendous surprise today?

First, he had exposed her identity. Then, he had told her that Zuo Xinglie was not dead and was hiding in Linked Mountains City.

Neither was something an ordinary member of a gang could possibly have encountered.

Wen Rou shook her head.

Now was not the time to investigate Chen Yuan's identity. First, she needed to confirm whether Zuo Xinglie was truly in Linked Mountains City.

If this information was true, the merit would exceed everything she had earned during all her years stationed in Linked Mountains City combined.

After leaving Worry-Free Tower, Chen Yuan headed straight back to the Heavenly Wolf Gang's residence and waited for Wen Rou's news.

Back then, Zuo Xinglie's entire family had been slaughtered. Only he and his granddaughter had escaped by faking their deaths, fleeing from south to north and settling in seclusion within Linked Mountains City.

In the final battle against the Mystic Whale Gang, Zuo Xinglie had risked his life to break through the encirclement, leaving all his meridians ruined. He had also lost an eye and crippled one leg, losing nearly all his martial arts and becoming an invalid.

Of the Nine Martial Realms, the first three were Body Tempering, Meridian Opening, and Blood Shifting. The middle three were Qi Forging, Sea of Wheels, and True Condensation.

At his peak, Zuo Xinglie had been a True Condensation expert. But with his meridians destroyed and unable to use internal force, his strength had fallen to the Body Tempering realm.

Of course, his physical strength remained. Even without internal force, and even with a crippled leg, he was stronger than most Body Tempering martial artists.

If pushed into a desperate fight, he could even battle a Meridian Opening martial artist.

In the original plot, not long after Jiang Kaitai blood-sacrificed the divine artifact, the Mystic Whale Gang sent people to Linked Mountains City to hunt down Zuo Xinglie, determined to wipe him out completely.

Zuo Xinglie fled desperately with his granddaughter and suffered severe injuries. He was saved by a player, who helped conceal his tracks and escape.

To repay that person, Zuo Xinglie gave him his secret inheritance, the "Surging Waves, Flowing Clouds Art" and the "Autumn Water, Startling Swan Saber Art."

Because Zuo Xinglie had been discovered by the player while fleeing for his life, the plot never mentioned where he had lived in seclusion before that. Chen Yuan could only use Skywind Rain-Listening Tower's channels to locate him.

Zuo Xinglie had been a grassroots hero of the Nine-Dragon River and leader of the Thirty-Six Waterways Alliance. Naturally, the cultivation arts he practiced were extraordinary.

The Surging Waves, Flowing Clouds Art was a high-grade Profound-rank internal art, while the Autumn Water Startled Swan Saber was an even lower-grade Earth-rank saber art.

With these two arts, Chen Yuan's strength could surge by a great deal.

The Mystic Whale Gang would not appear until after Jiang Kaitai blood-sacrificed the Seven Kill Stele. Chen Yuan could not wait that long.

But it did not matter. If there was no plot, then he would create one himself.

The process was unimportant. The result was what mattered.

There was no need to cling rigidly to the original plot and insist on following the exact same process.

Duan Mubai's case had been an example. Sometimes, even if the process was identical, the outcome could still differ.

Wen Rou moved quickly. Three days later, a waiter from Worry-Free Tower came to the Heavenly Wolf Gang to notify Chen Yuan that the proprietress wanted to see him.

Chen Yuan followed the waiter out of the Heavenly Wolf Gang, but this scene was seen by Chu Ziping, who had just entered the hall.

"Why has Third Brother been going out so often lately instead of properly cultivating at the hall?"

A trace of doubt appeared on Chu Ziping's face.

The old Chen Yuan had been like a shut-in, hiding in the training grounds every day to practice and cultivate.

Recently, he had gone out more times than he had in the entire previous year.

"Who was the person that called Third Brother out?"

Chu Ziping asked one of his subordinates beside him.

The subordinate scratched his head. "He seemed to be a waiter from Worry-Free Tower. I heard Third Young Master even went there himself a couple of days ago. The proprietress called him to the second floor, and he stayed there for quite a while."

"Has Third Brother fallen for someone?"

A strange smile appeared on Chu Ziping's face. "That proprietress of Worry-Free Tower is certainly seductive to the bone, though she seems a bit old. Does Third Brother like mature women? Hahaha!"

The subordinate laughed along with him. Men were always interested in such topics.

But Chu Ziping suddenly withdrew his smile and said in a low voice, "From now on, keep a closer eye on Third Brother's movements while we're at the hall. Remember to tell me whenever he leaves and whenever he returns."

Previously, Chu Ziping had regarded only Qin Yuancheng as a competitor.

But he did not know when it had begun, yet he felt that Third Brother seemed to have changed somewhat.

Although Third Brother currently had nothing that could threaten him, Chu Ziping still instinctively became somewhat wary of Chen Yuan.

This time, Chen Yuan followed the Worry-Free Tower waiter straight up to the second floor through the back door.

When he pushed open the door, Wen Rou was wearing a crimson chest-high ruqun dress. Her makeup was rich and dazzling, making her look like a blooming peony.

Chen Yuan had noticed it already. This woman really had a lot of clothes.

Every time he saw her, she wore something different, never repeating an outfit.

"Boss Wen, do you have news already?"

Wen Rou nodded. "Zuo Xinglie truly is living in seclusion within Linked Mountains City. He and his granddaughter have opened a noodle shop in Peaceful Ward."

After saying that, Wen Rou clicked her tongue softly. "I've passed that noodle shop more than once, but I never imagined that the one-eyed, lame old man cooking noodles was actually the grassroots hero who once dominated the Nine-Dragon River in Lan Prefecture—the 'Nine-River Flood Dragon,' Zuo Xinglie. The struggles of the martial world truly are like oil boiling over a fierce fire, cruel to the extreme."

"From our ranks, the winds and clouds arise; once we enter the martial world, the years press on. Mundane affairs surge like tides, people drift like water; one can only sigh at how few return from the martial world."

Chen Yuan shook his head lightly. "Once you step into this martial world, don't even think of stepping back out. It is impossible to wash your hands of it and retire.

Unless you can suppress the entire martial world with your might, slaughter every enemy and rival until none remain, and trample the whole martial world beneath your feet, only then are you qualified to speak the words 'retire from the martial world.'"

In truth, there had been no right or wrong in the conflict between the Mystic Whale Gang and the Thirty-Six Waterways Alliance. It had only been a struggle for profit.

The Thirty-Six Waterways Alliance collected standardized tolls, kept the profits for itself, and imposed rules and order, though it was overbearing.

The Mystic Whale Gang, meanwhile, joined forces with water bandits to extort merchant ships. Some paid more, some paid less; it depended entirely on the strength of the merchant caravan.

Both sides had already fought until their eyes ran red. As long as Zuo Xinglie was alive, the Mystic Whale Gang would inevitably seek to exterminate him.

Wen Rou looked at Chen Yuan in astonishment.

Those four lines seemed to encapsulate all the strife of the martial world. Their artistic depth and carefree air sounded more like words spoken by veteran martial arts masters who had seen through all the storms of the jianghu.

For a young man like Chen Yuan, who could only be considered newly arrived in the martial world, to say such things felt deeply out of place.

"Now that you've found him, what do you plan to do?"

Chen Yuan tapped lightly on the table and said in a deep voice, "The Mystic Whale Gang already knows Zuo Xinglie is in Youzhou, but they probably have not found Linked Mountains City yet.

I want to ask Boss Wen to send some people to put on a performance with me. They'll pretend to be Mystic Whale Gang members hunting down Zuo Xinglie, then I'll step in and save him. That shouldn't be difficult, should it?"

Wen Rou gave Chen Yuan a surprised look, roughly guessing what he intended to do.

"Not difficult. But if we want to make it convincing, we'll need to specifically choose a group of people. The Lan Prefecture and Youzhou dialects are vastly different."

As Skywind Rain-Listening Tower's person in charge in Linked Mountains City, Wen Rou was naturally not alone.

Those peripheral members merely remained hidden in the shadows, while only she appeared openly.

This was truly work that only Skywind Rain-Listening Tower could handle.

The peripheral members of these intelligence organizations came from all corners of the land. At best, they could disguise themselves as martial artists from any region; at worst, they could pose as commoners, small merchants, and street vendors. Nearly every one of them could speak several regional accents.

If Chen Yuan used Heavenly Wolf Gang members, Jiang Kaitai would notice, for one thing.

For another, the Heavenly Wolf Gang members were all locals of Linked Mountains City. The moment they opened their mouths, they spoke with the unmistakable rough northern Youzhou accent.

Using Heavenly Wolf Gang members to impersonate Mystic Whale Gang assassins from Lan Prefecture would be like dipping a sticky rice dumpling in white sugar and pretending it was a snow mochi—far too easy to expose.