Chu Qiuzi really was thinking of Wang Chong's interests. In this world, wealthy, influential households lived by distinctions of rank, and people of noble standing always had to be different from ordinary folk. However poor a scholar might be, he still needed a bookboy and a maid at his side. These were even among the symbols of his status.
Chu Qiuzi genuinely had no suitable candidate, or she would have arranged a maid for Wang Chong herself. As for maids competing for favor, the thought would scarcely enter the minds of highborn women in this world, for it flew far too much in the face of common sense. A man who made such a heaven-defying choice would cut himself off from scholarly society, and even in the martial world, it would be considered a disgrace to his household.
Su Luoyan beckoned, and a young girl came over. Her looks rated a six or seven, far inferior to Jiangzhuer's, and her skin was somewhat rough. A trace of misery lingered between her brows, making it clear she had not come from a comfortable household. She bowed to the three of them from a distance. Su Luoyan said gently, "Young Master Wang here is a good friend of mine. He lacks someone attentive to serve him, so I am giving you to him. Once you go with him, do not disgrace me."
Liuxian voiced her assent, trembling a little. Wang Chong smiled. "There's no need to be so frightened. I won't beat or scold anyone without cause." He did not know what else to say. As a transmigrator, by rights he ought to give this maid her freedom. But in a world like this, an ordinary maid would find it hard to survive without a master's household, even with some martial skills. The whole of society was like this; a moment's kindness could not resolve it.
Su Luoyan dismissed the maid, then resumed her conversation with Wang Chong and Chu Qiuzi, turning to other matters.
Only then did Wang Chong learn that the monk whose secular name was Chen Ba, now known by the Dharma name Xuangang, had quite an extraordinary background. He was a rare martial prodigy, someone who had reached the Innate Realm before thirty. His resounding fame was no less than that of Qian Luoyi, the Turks' new generation Wolf King. Now that Shaolin's foremost eminent monk, Kong Chan, had taken him as a disciple, his future prospects were boundless.
It was said throughout the martial world that anyone who reached the Innate Realm before thirty had a chance of becoming a Grandmaster before fifty. If someone became a Grandmaster before fifty, they could hope to become a Great Grandmaster in this lifetime. Wu Hook Frost Snow, Chess Sword Linglong, Qian Luoyi, and the monk Xuangang were all such people, a cut above Fang Jingru, Zhou Yuchen, Qin Han, and even the six women of Qingcheng.
After learning all this, he could not help muttering inwardly, I've fought both Qian Luoyi and Monk Xuangang, and neither fight had a winner. So do I count as being in the Innate Realm or not? What exactly is the standard for this Innate Realm?
The question was rather too basic to ask at the banquet. He planned to find a roundabout way of asking Chu Qiuzi when no one else was around.
The three were pleasantly flushed with drink when a maid suddenly hurried over. This maid was different again from Jiangzhuer: her eyes and brows were alluring, her glances full of charm, her every movement bewitching. While still some distance away, she said, "Qian Luoyi didn't believe Qin Han had killed White Chrysanthemum. He took two women from the Western Regions to the inn and openly challenged him. Qin Han accepted in anger and was severely wounded within twenty moves."
Su Luoyan looked slightly surprised. "What happened next?"
The maid answered, "Qian Luoyi was surrounded and attacked, but he had two helpers. He fought his way out of the encirclement and left at his leisure."
"Now everyone is saying Qin Han killed someone indiscriminately for the sake of fame and passed him off as White Chrysanthemum."
Su Luoyan said, "Didn't the two young ladies who were his victims identify him?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she could not help smiling bitterly, inwardly calling herself foolish.
What girl from a respectable family would show her face in public after suffering such humiliation? Most likely, they had merely sent a servant to take a cursory look and make a careless identification. It really was possible that they had muddled through and identified the wrong person. Had no one made a fuss, and had White Chrysanthemum committed no further crimes afterward, the matter would have ended there. But Qian Luoyi happened to resent someone else killing this lecherous villain and openly challenged Qin Han, making the whole affair bewildering once more.
Su Luoyan concentrated for a moment, then asked, "The members of the Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance are all outstanding talents of our time, and there are dozens of them. However skilled Qian Luoyi might be, he couldn't possibly come and go at leisure with just his own sword. Who were the two women from the Western Regions accompanying him?"
The maid who had brought the news replied, "Your guess is correct, miss. I made some inquiries afterward. Those two women from the Western Regions are disciples of Shafeina, the Holy Mother of the Eternal Life Holy Church, the largest religious order on the great grasslands: Snow Mountain Spirit Eagle Huo Qingge and Golden Bell of the Grasslands Xiao Yiguli, whose fame equals yours and Wu Hook Frost Snow's."
Su Luoyan's eyes instantly turned cold. "The people of the Eighteen Tribes of the Grasslands dare to run wild in the Central Plains? Do they think our land has no one capable?"
"I was just looking to test the mettle of this New Generation Wolf God of the Turks, and let those two foreign women learn that not just anyone deserves to share my fame." She said to Wang Chong and Chu Qiuzi, "Please sit a while, both of you. I'll be back shortly."
Chu Qiuzi hastily said, "Qian Luoyi has two helpers with him. Young Master Wang and I can provide support for you, Sister Su."
Su Luoyan smiled. "Then let's go together."
Wang Chong thought, Is Qian Luoyi that formidable? I didn't feel it last time!
Even with Zhou Yuchen, Qin Han, and the other five joining forces, Qian Luoyi had still forced his way free, which was already a loss of face for them. Wang Chong, alone with his fan, had met Qian Luoyi head-on without falling at a disadvantage. His martial skills were clearly more than a cut above theirs, eclipsing their brilliance. By tacit agreement, none of them had mentioned it to anyone else, so neither Su Luoyan nor Chu Qiuzi knew that Wang Chong had fought Qian Luoyi.
Wang Chong had also exchanged more than ten moves with Monk Xuangang, but Su Luoyan had arrived a step too late. Just then, Nan Xinlan had killed Sun Yanqi, and Wang Chong had withdrawn from the fight, so she had not witnessed it. Afterward, Monk Xuangang had returned to Golden Light Temple on Yanyun Mountain to report to his master, without mentioning the matter either. Nan Xinlan had just killed the man who betrayed her, and her emotions were surging; naturally, she had no attention to spare for this. In Su Luoyan's mind, Chu Qiuzi had the greater reputation, so her martial skills ought to be above Wang Chong's.
In Chu Qiuzi's mind, Wang Chong... was, after all, a lay disciple of Wudang who had not received its true teachings. His martial skills ought to be ordinary.
Neither woman regarded Wang Chong as their main fighting strength, and Wang Chong had no such awareness himself. He did not consider himself a martial artist. Subconsciously, he still saw himself as a man of letters. After all, he was a bona fide engineering graduate from a Project 985 university, a bona fide high-level scientific and technical professional.
Su Luoyan handled matters so thoroughly that not a drop could leak through. After she issued a few orders, more than a dozen people soon stood ready, leading sturdy horses to set out with her.
On this journey through the martial world, Su Luoyan had brought four male servants and eight maids. The four men were all experts trained by her household, all in their forties or fifties, with profound internal power and formidable martial skills. The eight maids needed even less introduction. She had personally trained each of them in martial arts, and they were also proficient in formations for combined attacks. Even against a Grandmaster, they could hold out for a time and fight to give their young mistress a thread of hope for survival.
Only then did Wang Chong understand why Su Luoyan was unafraid to challenge Qian Luoyi, remaining perfectly at ease even knowing he had two highly skilled helpers. She truly had substantial backing!
The party left Pengshan County, and in less than an hour, they saw three magnificent horses grazing leisurely up ahead!
...Qian Luoyi: As if Qin Han could kill White Chrysanthemum...
...Liuxian: Director Ha, am I an extra, or an eighteenth-billed bit player...
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