Chapter 289
Chapter 289
*Damn them all. Every day they say I’m at the bottom of the Six Grandmasters. What about my dignity? Just you wait. When my disciple, Big Dummy, becomes great, I’ll take you all down one by one. Big Dummy isn’t young anymore; I need to find him a bride soon. My Big Dummy is so amazing, destined to become the greatest master under heaven. So I can’t just find him any bride. She has to be a worthy match. Wouldn't a disciple of one of the Six Grandmasters be the perfect choice?*
*The Old Demon of the Snow Mountain? No, no. You’re not a Grandmaster. Our statuses don’t match, and besides, your disciple is too ugly (Huang Feng: I’ll kill you all. -Author’s note). Sword King Li Qianqiu has only one disciple, and he’s a man. Saber King Yan Nanfei? He has a daughter and a female disciple, but that man is too vicious and ambitious. Plus, he’s utterly devoted to the King. It’s best to avoid getting involved with him.*
After weighing his options, only one candidate remained. Grandmaster Xue Yin had a female disciple, and her age was similar to Big Dummy’s—only five years older. That was why Grandmaster Zhong Chuke had decided to visit the Great Snow Mountain.
The Great Snow Mountain was immense, with parts lying in the State of Yue, the State of Chu, and the State of Jiang. Zhong Chuke had gone there partly to duel the Old Demon of the Snow Mountain and partly to find a bride for Big Dummy.
At that moment, Jin Mucong finally spoke up quietly.
“Xiao Bing, I’m back. Big Dummy, it’s really good to see you.”
*I just got out of prison. Can’t you guys pay a little attention to me?*
Xiao Bing said.
“Young Master, you’re out! Aww! What beautiful children!”
Then, Xiao Bing rushed forward, scooped both children into her arms, and refused to let them go for even a moment. Princess Ning Yan also looked at Jin Mucong and said.
“Oh, you’re the fat one? You’re that worthless punk who raped the bookseller’s wife!”
Jin Mucong shook his head.
“No, no! I was framed by that Jin woman. I’m the victim.”
The irate Tigress Princess glared at him and said.
“That’s even more pathetic.”
Then, Big Dummy asked.
“Little Dummy, what’s rape?”
Jin Mucong glanced at Big Dummy and said.
“I was really looking forward to seeing you, and I was even moved to see you, but now I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
Just then, Shen Lang spoke.
“Thirteen, take Young Master Jin Mucong to bathe and change his clothes.”
“Yes.”
Shen Lang turned back to Big Dummy and said.
“Big Dummy, how far have you progressed in your martial arts? Have you become great?”
Big Dummy said dejectedly.
“I haven’t learned well. I’m not great at all. Master scolds me for being stupid every day. The other day, he said a passing dog or a pig raised in the village would be much better than me.”
“Don’t be discouraged. You’ve only been learning for half a year.”
Indeed. The first six months of martial arts training were all about the basics. It took about that long just to master the horse stance.
“So, has your master taught you any sword techniques?”
“No, he said he’ll teach me in another year.”
“Then has your master taught you about internal energy?”
“What’s internal energy?”
Shen Lang was stunned and cursed inwardly.
*Zhong Chuke, what kind of Grandmaster are you? You haven’t taught him anything properly. It’s been half a year, and Big Dummy hasn’t learned a thing? At this rate, when will he ever become the greatest master under heaven? A Grandmaster like you is ruining his student, aren’t you? Look at Li Qianqiu, how well he teaches his disciple. Now I see there might be some truth to you being at the bottom of the Six Grandmasters. It wasn’t my beloved Mulan’s fault that her martial arts weren’t great; it was because you didn’t teach her properly. If I get the chance, I’ll have to use the favor Sword King Li Qianqiu owes me and ask him to teach my beloved Mulan himself.*
Shen Lang was a little annoyed at that moment.
“Big Dummy, you haven’t learned any sword techniques or internal energy in half a year. What have you learned then?”
Big Dummy said dejectedly.
“I can’t do anything.”
Then, as if remembering something, Big Dummy said.
“Oh, right, Master told me to find someone named Ning Jue and fight her disciple. He said then no one in the capital would bully me. But who’s Ning Jue?”
The Tigress Princess had been holding one of the children, ready to play without a care for her status. But upon hearing Big Dummy’s words, she jumped in surprise.
*What?! Big Dummy, you’ve only been training for half a year. Even if you were born with incredible strength, you still don’t know anything about martial arts like sword techniques or internal energy. And you want to fight me?*
In that instant, the Tigress Princess couldn’t hold back and said immediately.
“Let’s go, let’s go to my master’s place! I, Ning Yan, can defeat you in a single blow with one hand tied behind my back!”
Then, the irate Tigress Princess grabbed Shen Lang’s hand and stormed out, heading for Princess Ning Jue’s residence. Xiao Bing frowned.
*Ning Yan, it’s one thing for you to fight Big Dummy, but why are you holding my man’s hand? Shameless woman. Are you trying to steal my man? Just because your butt is so big it could make a half-sized house collapse if you sat on it, you think you’re all that?*
Princess Ning Yan, oblivious to the fact that she was holding Shen Lang’s hand, pulled him along and shouted.
“Let’s go, Big Dummy! I’ll take you on with one hand in front of my master!”
***
The State of Jiang.
For the past month, the country seemed to be completely cursed. A highly contagious outbreak of smallpox had occurred there. The King of Jiang was a tyrannical and cruel man, so as soon as someone was found to be infected with smallpox, he had them immediately burned and buried, offering no treatment whatsoever. He used the most brutal methods to try and eradicate the epidemic. But even that couldn't completely stop the disease. The State of Jiang had no city walls, so they couldn't close the gates to block the movement of people.
The State of Jiang lived in constant fear of plagues, which broke out every few years, each time causing countless people to die in agony. To the people of Jiang, smallpox was not just a disease but something akin to a divine punishment from the heavens. It was like a messenger from hell, come to reap lives.
Plagues usually struck every four or five years, but this year the weather was unusually humid and hot, making the smallpox even more contagious. Even though the King of Jiang had already killed tens of thousands of sick people, he couldn't stop the disease, and more and more people were becoming infected. In the end, the King of Jiang, in a state of grief over the current situation, looked to the sky and cried out.
“Oh, Heavenly God, what have my people of Jiang done wrong? Why do you punish me like this? How many more people must die before this hellish disaster ends? If more people die, my State of Jiang will be finished first!”
***
Princess Alunana of Jiang rode a white ox down the snow mountain. She was incredibly robust and powerful, standing over two meters tall. She was twenty-five this year. She had once been the strongest female warrior in the State of Jiang.
At the age of eight, she was already one meter and seventy centimeters tall, and from then on, she followed her father, the king, into battle, killing people. By the age of thirteen, she had participated in all sorts of battles and massacres in the State of Jiang, earning a reputation as the Hell Princess. Moreover, because she killed so many people, others whispered that she would soon be cursed, and that a cursed woman like her would die before she reached the age of thirty.
Then, one day ten years ago, a peerless beauty appeared and offered to take Princess Alunana as her disciple. She said that Alunana’s killing intent was too strong, and if not properly guided, she would indeed die before thirty. Princess Alunana didn't believe her and immediately charged at the woman with her scimitar, followed by a dozen Jiang warriors. But the peerless beauty, with just one of her beautiful fingers, easily subdued Princess Alunana and all the warriors. And so, Princess Alunana became her disciple and has lived on the snow mountain for over ten long years.
But after more than ten years of following that woman and learning martial arts, Princess Alunana was going crazy with frustration. It was because she hadn't killed anyone for a very, very long time. Originally, she had thought she would stay on the snow mountain and by her master’s side for much longer. But last night, her master had informed her that she had found her a fiancé, who would be coming to meet her soon. The moment she heard the news, Alunana felt like she would explode.
*A man? I, Alunana, don’t need a man. I, Alunana, am a hero in my own right. What man in this world could possibly conquer me? Look at these men. They’re all so small I can’t bear to look at them. Any man standing next to me looks like a child. I look like a mountain.*
But since her master had told her to go to the meeting, she didn't dare refuse. The master she had known for ten years was simply too formidable. Princess Alunana considered herself a great person, and indeed, few could match her martial prowess. Yet, in ten years, she had never once defeated her master. But with things as they were, Princess Alunana wanted to avoid the meeting at all costs. Eventually, she stealthily slipped a sleeping potion into her master's drink, putting her into a deep sleep, before riding her ox down the mountain alone and returning to the Jiang Royal Palace.
***
On the peak of the snow mountain.
A peerless beauty stood tall on the snowfield, her figure ethereal. The snow seemed ready to collapse under the slightest pressure, yet she left no footprints at all. She watched with an amused expression as her disciple rode the ox down the mountain. She was the Grandmaster of supreme martial arts, Xue Yin, a woman worthy of being called a peerless beauty, a person who fit the praise of the poem.
*“In the north, there is a beauty, who stands alone, apart from the world. With one glance, she topples a city; with a second, she overthrows a nation.”*
Her age was a mystery, but judging by her face and figure, she looked to be no more than twenty. Just then, a shadow appeared before her in a flash. As if he had flown onto the snowfield, he, like her, left no footprints.
“Senior Sister Xue Yin, it’s been over twenty years since we last met, yet you remain unchanged. In fact, you seem to have grown younger.”
“Junior Brother Zhong, I haven’t seen you in twenty years, and you’ve grown older.”
“The Empire fell and my master passed away suddenly. My own energy has waned, so how could I not age? But Senior Sister, wasn’t your disciple supposed to meet my disciple, Big Dummy? Why did you let her go?”
Grandmaster Xue Yin replied.
“If it’s fate, it will happen naturally, even without deliberate matchmaking.”
Then, with neither joy nor sorrow on her peerless face, Xue Yin continued.
“Besides, I am going to die soon. I don’t want that child to see me die.”