Zhang Guozhong had never imagined that, for the sake of one request from him, Pan Long would cross thousands of mountains and rivers to have his A Study of Immortals and Buddhas, Ancient and Modern printed in the Western Regions.
He had assumed Pan Long would do it years later.
But Pan Long had taken only six days.
He had handed Pan Long the manuscript on the sixth day of the eighth month. Today was only the twelfth!
His hands trembled slightly. After a long while, he said, "Years ago, Chancellor Wen wrote of a hero called Hu Yidao in his novel Tales of Blades and Swords: A Gathering of Heroes. Before a duel, as the two men exchanged their last wishes, Hu learned that his opponent had a mortal enemy. If the man died without taking revenge, he would never rest in peace. Hu knew his own martial arts surpassed his opponent's, and he had spotted a flaw in the man's technique. Victory was certain. So he raced eight hundred li through the night, killed his opponent's enemy, and avenged that blood-deep feud."
Pan Long smiled. He knew the story, of course. But the version he knew was utterly different from the one Wen Chao had "re-created" in this world.
In the version he knew, Hu Yidao and Miao Renfeng had been caught in a scheme. For all their earthshaking martial arts, they were only pieces on someone else's chessboard—a sorry fate. In Wen Chao's version, however, Hu Yidao had not only formidable skills but a sharp eye. He saw through the villains' plot at a glance. Tian Guinong and Yan Ji, who had poisoned the weapons, each received a tiny cut from blade or sword and died of the poison. The Hu, Miao, and Fan families laid their