Sanhe Town, west of Yunzhou.
Frost-white moonlight spilled across the street outside the inn, while a yellowed wine banner swayed in the night breeze.
Clack, clack...
The crisp clicking of an abacus rang out from the depths of the main hall.
The elderly innkeeper stood behind the counter, his head lowered over the day's accounts. Occasionally, he raised his eyes to glance around the hall.
On the left side of the hall, Perfected Person Xuanji sat upright at a square table, wearing a gauzy Veil Hat. A cup of tea and the Acacia Sword lay before her. Meng Jiao sat opposite her, with Shang Jianli and She Long on either side.
Four people likewise occupied a table on the right side of the hall, where half-finished dishes and wine stood. Two more men with weapons at their waists stood beside them.
"I came to Yunzhou without any ill intent. Bringing so many experts here seems rather excessive, Fairy Lu."
The speaker sat against the wall on the left. His build was imposing, but his bearing was scholarly and refined. In particular, the skin of his face was smooth and fair as jade, finer than that of most women.
No one seeing this middle-aged scholar with his jade-like face for the first time would have imagined that he was Jiang Zhawu, overlord of Liangzhou and the foremost unarmed fighter in the martial world!
After defeating Liu Qiansheng, Jiang Zhawu had rarely ventured out. To the martial artists of Great Wei, his fighting strength remained unknown. He had few achievements to demonstrate his prowess, yet almost everyone believed that, barehanded, he surpassed both Lu Jieyun and Zhou Chiyang.
This high appraisal stemmed from Jiang Zhawu's highly unusual past. Among the current Martial Chiefs, he alone had had his development cut short midway.