Chapter 194
Chapter 194
Upon receiving Xu Qianqian’s letter asking for help, Shen Lang’s first thought was, ‘Are these women luring me into a trap to harm me?!’ It couldn’t be helped. The smarter a person was, the more suspicious they tended to be. Xu Qianqian was his mortal enemy, and with a new backer like Qiu Yao’er, she might just decide to discard him.
However, after some analysis, Shen Lang concluded that this was unlikely. Qiu Yao’er was a difficult person to get close to, and Xu Qianqian had only managed to become her confidante by telling fascinating stories. Besides, Xu Qianqian wouldn't betray him until after Zhang Chong and his son were dead. So, should he go to Raging Tide City and save Qiu Yao’er? He had to. He absolutely had to go in person. If he didn't, and Qiu Yao’er died, his entire plan for Raging Tide City would go up in smoke.
‘Alright, let’s go!’
Shen Lang made his decision quickly, but one troublesome matter came to mind. He was too weak, and it would be difficult for him to survive in a place like Raging Tide City without someone to protect him. He needed at least a master of Mulan’s caliber by his side. But Jin Hui and Thirteen were not an option. First, their martial arts weren’t strong enough, and second, their faces were already known.
His trip to Raging Tide City this time had to be completely hidden from the world, a secret to everyone. Should he go find the Sword King Li Qianqiu and ask him to be his bodyguard again? Impossible. Would a Sword King, a grandmaster of his generation, come to act as a bodyguard? He was probably too busy trying to please his wife. Besides, the Sword Island was far away; even if he asked, the Sword King might not arrive in time.
Eventually, Shen Lang once again sought out Huang Dong of the Heavenly Dao Society. The society’s envoy, Huang Dong, was staying in the basement of the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate, as there were many details for them to coordinate.
“Brother Huang, I’d like to borrow a master.”
“No problem. How strong do they need to be?”
See how well Huang Dong handled things? He agreed without a second thought before asking what kind of master was needed.
“I’d like someone with skills comparable to my wife’s. A woman, if possible.”
Upon hearing Shen Lang’s request, Huang Dong seemed to be holding back something he wanted to say.
“What is it?”
“I do have such a master. She’s not far from here, and she came specifically to protect me. But… she’s not very pretty.”
Shen Lang couldn’t help but look at Huang Dong with a puzzled expression.
‘Huang Dong, what are you trying to say? Do you think I’m going to get involved with my female bodyguard?’
Shen Lang told him.
“I want someone unattractive. The less attractive, the better.”
Huang Dong breathed a sigh of relief for a moment, then began to worry secretly again.
‘Rumor has it that many men have a strong penchant for the bizarre. Perhaps he’s grown tired of sleeping with peerless beauties and now deliberately seeks out unattractive women, preferring them the uglier they are?’
Many handsome men had such tastes. But even so, he would do his best to satisfy Shen Lang. He was a strategic ally, after all. He had already handed over a million gold coins; what was one unattractive woman in comparison?
A short while later, a masked woman appeared before Shen Lang. Her martial prowess was clearly formidable. When Shen Lang used his X-ray vision to check the color of her blood meridians, he saw her skills were only slightly inferior to those of the Martial Fanatic, Tang Yan. Huang Dong said to her.
“Feng’er, take off your mask.”
When the woman removed her mask, Shen Lang’s eyes twitched slightly.
‘She really is… quite unattractive.’
After looking at the female master’s eyes, Shen Lang grew curious.
‘Are all Martial Fanatics like this? Staring intently at people with those dazed eyes.’
Shen Lang asked Huang Dong.
“Excuse me, but this young lady is?”
“My younger sister, Huang Feng!”
“Your biological sister?”
Huang Dong nodded. Shen Lang was surprised.
‘Huang Dong, you’re quite ruthless, offering up your own sister. It’s dangerous to leave your sister with a peerless beauty like me. What will you do if she falls madly in love with me? It’s a pity, but your sister can never be with me.’
But Shen Lang was overthinking it. The female master, Huang Feng, ignored him as if he were thin air.
“By the way, does anyone know your sister, Brother Huang?”
“She has just left her sect, so no one should know her. Besides, she has always worn a mask until just now, so it’s even more unlikely anyone would recognize her.”
“Miss Huang Feng, please get ready. We will be departing immediately.”
Huang Feng nodded without a word. Huang Dong said.
“Feng’er, from now on, you must follow whatever orders Master Shen gives you. Do you understand?”
Huang Feng nodded again. It seemed she would forever maintain this indifferent attitude. One might even call it stoic. The female master, Huang Feng, was always unperturbed by anything. While training with her master, she had experienced all sorts of terrifying situations and was confident that nothing in this world could ever make her show a surprised expression again.
But half a shichen later, the female master Huang Feng, who seemed unflappable, was trembling in shock. The infuriatingly handsome Shen Lang was gone. In his place stood a woman. A peerless beauty, at that.
‘Wh-what on earth happened to him? I can’t even see his Adam’s apple!’
In truth, Shen Lang’s male hormones weren’t very strong, so his Adam’s apple had never been prominent. Seeing the unattractive master’s shock, Shen Lang said to her.
“Don’t be surprised by such trivial things. Let’s go!”
And so, Shen Lang, in his female disguise, headed for Raging Tide City with the unattractive master, Huang Feng.
The unattractive master, Huang Feng, drove the carriage from the front, while Shen Lang sat inside with his perfect toolbox. The sea was still several hundred li away, so they were scheduled to arrive at the coastal pier around dawn. A road owned by the Count’s estate ran all the way from the estate to the coast, where the Jin Clan had its own private pier.
Years ago, the Jin Clan had built a road to a coastal pier in a desolate, unfrequented area. This, of course, was part of the grand design of their ancestor, Jin Zhuo. At the time, when he led his great army to wipe out all the pirates in the coastal region, the Jin Clan’s fiefdom was not near the sea. It was then that Jin Zhuo thought of securing road ownership rights.
The Jin Clan invested a huge sum to build the two-hundred-li road to the coast, and according to the contract, this road fell within the sphere of influence of the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate. Of course, the rights were not permanent; they could only own it for two hundred years. After that, the road would revert to the king’s ownership, but the Jin Clan would retain the right to use it forever.
Thanks to this road, the Jin Clan’s army could freely advance to the sea and head for Raging Billows Island without having to pass through Yangwu Commandery. However, to avoid attracting attention, Shen Lang headed for the pier in Yangwu Commandery. Shen Lang asked Huang Feng.
“Miss Huang, do you know Qiu Yao’er?”
“I do.”
Know her? Qiu Yao’er was her idol. To be precise, she was an idol to all women who practiced martial arts.
“Your brother said your martial arts are very strong, Miss Huang. Where do you rank among the young masters of the State of Yue?”
“I am not ranked.”
Shen Lang was surprised.
“But your brother said your skills are even greater than my wife Mulan’s.”
“My skills are superior to hers, but I am not ranked.”
‘Ugh! I thought being as good as my wife was already incredible.’
Actually, Shen Lang had misunderstood something. While Mulan was certainly formidable, she had to train not only in personal combat but also in mounted combat for the battlefield. She was still young and had much room for growth. The more time one spent training in martial arts, the stronger one became.
“Then who is the greatest master among the youth of the State of Yue?”
“I do not know. The top masters do not duel each other every day to show who is stronger. However, one of three or four people could be the best of the young generation.”
“If you had to name one, who would it be?”
“Zhu Hongxue.”
Hearing that name, Shen Lang’s eyes twitched. He had heard it once again. Zhu Hongxue was the Queen’s nephew and the son of Governor-General Zhu Rong, a true prodigy. In the past, General Zhu Lin had come to propose marriage to Mulan on Zhu Hongxue’s behalf.
“Isn’t Zhu Hongxue a scholar?”
“He is a man of both letters and arms.”
“On what grounds do you say he is the top master of the young generation?”
“Because his master is Zuo Ci!”
Shen Lang had heard that name somewhere before but couldn’t recall it at the moment.
‘Did Grandmaster Zhong Chuke mention him? No! Then was it Senior Sword King Li Qianqiu? No, not him either! That’s right, I remember now. The beautiful scholar of the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, Zhang Yuyin, mentioned his name.’
Zuo Ci was the honorary Pavilion Master of the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. The greatness of that organization needed no further mention; it was the holy land of martial arts for the Eastern Continent and the Southern Lands. The first Sword King of the South Sea, Qiu Ju, had come from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, but he was merely a candidate scholar. Zuo Ci was the successor to the Zuo Clan, the founders of the Pavilion, but because he was always wandering the world and spent most of his time at sea, he came to be called the honorary Pavilion Master.
“There are Six Grandmasters in the State of Yue. Why is the name Zuo Ci not among them?”
“There are Five Great Noble Clans in the State of Yue, but the Ning Clan is not among them.”
Ugh! That made sense. The Ning Clan was royalty, so there was no need to rank them. Similarly, Zuo Ci was the honorary master of the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, so there was no need for him to be ranked among the Six Grandmasters. In any case, he was an incredibly great and distinguished individual. With such a person as his master, how could others not be jealous of Zhu Hongxue?
“Then who is Qiu Yao’er’s master?”
Even the Sword King had never mentioned Qiu Yao’er’s master, and Shen Lang had searched through many records but found nothing about her.
“Her master is called Luo Zu!”
‘Luo Zu? What a strange name.’
“And who is she?”
“I do not know. She is a mysterious woman. A woman who forever remains at sea and never sets foot on land. And she is the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Zuo Ci abandoned the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion and began to wander the world because of that woman.”
‘That woman is quite something. A man as incredible as Zuo Ci gave up the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion for her?’
“So, did Zuo Ci sleep with Luo Zu?”
For a moment, Huang Feng was at a loss for words. It was the first time in her life she had heard such a vulgar question. To martial artists like her, Zuo Ci and Luo Zu were figures to be revered and looked up to, idols as sacred as gods who could not be defiled. Yet here he was, constantly talking about who slept with whom. Did he think everyone was as base as him?
“Nothing of the sort happened.”
“How do you know they didn’t sleep together? Maybe they did and just didn’t tell anyone?”
Huang Feng couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Zuo Ci loved Luo Zu deeply, but Luo Zu considered him only a dear friend. The feelings between them were very pure. It is not as sordid as you imagine.”
Shen Lang sneered.
“Haha! There are no pure feelings between a man and a woman. It’s either because he couldn’t get her into bed or because he couldn’t get it up.”
‘Shut that mouth of yours!’
Huang Feng screamed internally but did not dare to say the words out loud. Her brother had instructed her not to defy any of Shen Lang’s requests. In her heart, she felt that practicing martial arts was a thankless and unfair path. What good was it to be highly skilled? She was just a bodyguard for the human trash before her. And this human trash couldn’t even be called a pretty boy. When he wore a skirt, he was more beautiful than any woman. She cursed the heavens for not striking this man’s face with lightning and splitting it in two.
Shen Lang asked her again.
“Miss Huang, then who is your master?”
Huang Feng said nothing. Shen Lang sighed to himself.
‘Unattractive people are so petty. Are you ignoring me just because I slandered your idol?’