"There are so many of them. At this rate, we'll both die of exhaustion."
Zhang Junbao leaned against a tree, an iron sword in his hand.
Since encountering Zheng Shan's group last night, three more groups had come looking for them over the course of the night.
None had hurt either of them, but if this kept up, they would die of exhaustion alone.
Zhang Qingyuan squatted on the other side, looting the corpses. He asked with a smile, "Being a great hero isn't such a nice experience, is it? Kill one person, and a whole crowd comes hunting you down."
"I still don't regret it. If I run into that sort of person again, I'll still rid the people of a scourge."
"Then let's stop complaining." Zhang Qingyuan tucked the money he had searched off the corpses into his clothes. He had expected this.
Novels had written this trope to death.
But it all made sense.
There was no helping it. People were like that. Otherwise, why would there be that saying about when the endless cycle of vengeance would ever end?
Besides, even if he weren't this sort of person himself, this would still happen with Zhang Junbao around, because his character would not change.
"After a few more rounds of being hunted, we won't have to deal with all this trouble."
"Why?"
Zhang Qingyuan explained, "Because small fry like these won't show up anymore. They're in it to make money, not to throw their lives away.
"These groups serving as their vanguard will be enough for them to assess our martial arts.
"Once they understand they're no match for us, they'll stop taking this job. After that, everyone who comes will be an expert."
"Really?" Fighting spirit filled Zhang Junbao's eyes once more.
"Mm." Zhang Qingyuan thought for a moment, then added, "Or maybe not. Once Master Wang knows we won't surrender so easily, he'll definitely raise the bounty.
"If five hundred taels aren't enough, he'll add another five hundred, or even fifteen hundred.
"The more money offered, the more people willing to risk their lives. Money and riches have always moved people's hearts."
"Then what do we do?" Zhang Junbao wilted again. He wanted to exchange blows with experts, because small fry could no longer offer him any surprises. Only experts could help him improve his combat experience.
"That's why we need to run."
"How?"
Zhang Qingyuan looked at the two donkeys accompanying them and the bundles on their backs. "Abandon the baggage and travel light!"
Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao released the two donkeys. The instant they were set free, both vanished into the mountain wilderness. Perhaps nature was where they belonged.
The two packed two bundles: one held their secret manuals and several scriptures, while the other contained a few changes of clothes.
They now each had a sword, both equipment dropped by their enemies.
Traveling light, they stuck to narrow paths and went three straight days without encountering a single person.
Without the donkeys burdening them, they also moved much faster.
By the afternoon of the third day, they had reached a town.
It was called Xia County-Lower County-though even the locals did not know where the upper limit was.
Once they entered town, the bustle immediately surrounded them, full of life.
They found an inn, went inside, and sat down.
Inside the inn, guests sat two or three to a table, occupying a full seven or eight tables.
Every one of those guests looked vicious. From the moment the two entered, all eyes had focused on them.
"Is it them?"
"Maybe."
"What do you say?"
"Do we move?"
"Wait a little longer. Let's watch first."
The people inside whispered among themselves. They had all come for Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao.
The Wang Family Bank wielded enormous influence around Luoyang, and Old Wang was willing to spend.
And so, what Zhang Qingyuan had worried about really had happened.
People had discovered several groups of corpses near Luoyang. With the methods of death largely identical, they knew this was the pair's handiwork.
When they sent word back, Old Wang had raised the bounty straight to three thousand taels, vowing to avenge his son.
Dead or alive-it did not matter, so long as the two died.
Three thousand taels could buy over six thousand shi of ordinary rice, a two-courtyard residence in the capital's outer city, five or six days with an ordinary courtesan queen from the capital's Entertainment Bureau, six hundred iron swords from Yinghui Sword-Forging Manor, or three hundred thousand dog-skin medicinal plasters!
Those comparisons made the value of three thousand taels of silver clear.
Thus, they had long since lain in wait along major routes, in several large cities and small towns around Luoyang.
They no longer fought separately, but had twisted themselves into a single rope.
Even the waiter could tell something was wrong with the atmosphere. Ever since these two Daoist gentlemen entered, the surrounding air had grown several degrees colder.
"Will you gentlemen be eating or staying?"
Zhang Qingyuan said, "Staying. Bring us two stir-fried dishes and two bowls of rice first."
"Just a moment."
The waiter did not want to get caught between them either. After bringing over a teapot, he hurried away.
"Brother Yuan, what do you think they're doing?" Zhang Junbao took a sip of tea and looked around.
Zhang Qingyuan likewise lifted his teacup, looking utterly bored. "Who knows? Maybe they're all mute."
At those words, a stir immediately ran through the people around them.
But none wanted to act rashly. After all, these two had gained a fearsome reputation over the past few days, and they did not think themselves much stronger than the previous groups.
"It couldn't have been easy to gather this many mutes together," Zhang Junbao chimed in.
"Exactly. How pitiful."
The people around them clenched their fists and glared at the pair.
"Brother, they're all looking at us. Were we talking too loudly? Did they hear us?
"Hey, do you think they can hear us quietly talking smack about them here?"
Zhang Junbao had learned bad habits too. He pretended to shield his mouth with his hand as he spoke to Zhang Qingyuan.
"I reckon they can't. Otherwise, they'd have beaten you up already."
"Oh, then we're fine. Let's keep our voices down."
"You've gone too far!"
With a bang, one man finally lost his patience. He slapped the table and stood, shouting angrily at the pair, "Are you the murderers who killed Young Master Wang?"
Zhang Junbao froze, then whispered to Zhang Qingyuan, "Brother, they're not mute."
"You impudent brats! How dare you humiliate me!"
"Keep your voice down. They heard everything." Zhang Qingyuan winked at Zhang Junbao.
"Got it. I... will... keep... my... voice... down..."
"Everyone, gang up on them!"
The others rose one after another, baring their blades and swords.
Zhang Qingyuan said solemnly, "See? You've talked them into a rage."
"Aren't they mute?"
Both turned at the same time to face the crowd farther inside.
"Young heroes, we're all sensible people." An older saber wielder spoke without expression. "Why must you humiliate us? A true man conducts himself openly and honorably in the martial world. Why seek a moment's pleasure with your tongues?"
Zhang Qingyuan licked his lips and asked, "Aren't you blocking our way here because you want our lives?"
"Heh. If you surrender without resistance, we can bind you and take you back for Master Wang to deal with."
"There you have it. You want our lives, but we can't indulge our mouths a little?
"We've been under so much pressure these past few days. If we don't relieve our strained nerves and keep them stretched taut like this, we'll suffer Qi deviation."
"You..."
Before he could speak, Zhang Junbao gave a thumbs-up beside him and laughed. "Brother Yuan, you really do have a way with things. When you're feeling stifled, acting cheeky and cute, making others angry to make yourself happy really does ease the strain."
"Right? It's called avoiding internal mental drain. And the best way to avoid internal drain is to drain someone else instead."
"You impudent brats! Impudent brats! Do you dare give your names?"
Zhang Qingyuan planted one foot on the stool and told them, "My full name is Zhang Qingyuan, and my brother's is Zhang Junbao. If you can't remember those, you can remember our nicknames instead.
"His nickname is Dad.
"And mine is... Daddy."
"Attack!"
The crowd erupted completely. After such humiliation, who cared about the gap in strength? Without fighting back, they could never ease the hatred in their hearts.
Blades and swords raised, they charged at the pair.
Zhang Qingyuan was about to draw his sword when Zhang Junbao stopped him.
"After these past few days of fighting, I suddenly had an idea. Just now, a movement technique came to me. It's only a rough outline and isn't complete yet. Let me go perfect it."
"Oh."
In an instant, Zhang Junbao rushed into the crowd, his steps light as a butterfly among flowers.
His feet moved lightly without falling into disorder, his figure weaving among the crowd, yet none could even touch the hem of his clothes.
This movement technique was a flash of inspiration that had come to Zhang Junbao after several fights against multiple opponents.
He felt that simply fighting head-on, especially against multiple opponents, drained internal strength and stamina too quickly.
With a better movement technique that could effectively evade coordinated attacks, the expenditure of internal strength and stamina would be greatly reduced.
Over the past few days, he had happened upon several butterflies in the mountains, and inspiration had burst forth.
Now, this was his testing ground.
He danced through the crowd, seemingly light and airy, yet impossible to catch.
It was like a child trying to catch a butterfly barehanded: the butterfly seemed to fly so slowly that one could catch it simply by reaching out.
But when you reached for it, it would always fly away just before you caught it.
That was the essence of this movement technique.
Watching Zhang Junbao weave back and forth among them, yet being unable to hit him, the crowd grew anxious and furious.
Especially after what he had just said-that he had created this bizarre movement technique on the spot. If that were true, how great must his talent be?
They had heard of breaking through to a new realm in battle, but who had ever heard of creating martial arts during a fight?
They did not know whether it was true, but the longer they fought, the more alarmed they became.
"Don't panic, everyone! He's trying to shake our morale!"
Zhang Junbao fixed his eyes on the speaker. The next instant, he reached the man in two steps and struck with a backhand palm.
"You talk too much!"
After the blow, Zhang Junbao had more or less finished demonstrating the technique. Still dodging, he asked, "Brother Yuan, did you get it?"
"I got it."
"Give it a name."
Zhang Qingyuan thought for a moment, and suddenly a piece of BGM came to mind.
"Let's call it Blue Butterfly Cloud-Gliding Wandering Body Steps!"
With that, he too charged into the crowd.
Before, without a movement technique, he could only rely on instinct and experience to dodge, block, and counterattack.
Now that he had this technique, fighting was much easier.
Duan Yu knew no martial arts, yet a single Lightness Skill of the Waves could run circles around a whole group of first-rate experts.
Later, paired with the Six Meridians Divine Sword, he was an ADC packed with mobility.
The importance of movement techniques thus went without saying.
When Zhang Qingyuan joined the fray, everyone saw that his movements were identical to Zhang Junbao's, and their composure shattered.
How the fuck could this have just been created and just been learned?
What a joke!
If things really were as they said,
what kind of godlike talent must they have?
The pair did not care what they thought. Everything we said was true anyway.