Chapter 991 A Duel in the Martial World

Zhao’s tavern had a unique characteristic: it only sold wine and did not offer side dishes.

The people of Zhao loved wine and insisted that drinking was purely for the sake of drinking. Those who needed side dishes were considered to not understand wine.

There was a story that had been circulating in Zhao for a long time. The King of Zhao invited the Regent Prince of Great Yan to drink.

The Regent Prince was surprised to see only wine in front of him, without any dishes, and couldn’t help but ask, “Where are the dishes?”

The King of Zhao firmly said that in Zhao, drinking wine meant no dishes. If dishes were to be served, the wine had to be removed.

The Regent Prince was displeased and said, “I want side dishes!”

The King of Zhao insisted that the rules could not be broken.

The Regent Prince angrily slammed the table, “Serve me the dishes!”

The King of Zhao then shouted, “Since you have entered the land of Zhao, you must obey the rules of Zhao. In my Zhao, the rules of drinking are greater than even the Emperor!”

The Regent Prince finally gave in and drank three cups of wine with the King according to the rules of Zhao, before the wine was removed and dishes were served.

This story was widely circulated among the people of Zhao, and they enjoyed talking about it. Every time they mentioned it, they would unconsciously raise their necks and their faces would glow.

However, anyone with a bit of sense could see that this story couldn’t stand scrutiny.

First of all, the current King of Zhao had rebelled against his own father when the Yan army besieged the capital, and he only came to power with the support of the Yan people.

Did he have the nerve to be so stubborn in front of the Regent Prince of Great Yan?

Not to mention shouting and saying that the rules of Zhao were greater than the Emperor. If he dared to say that, wouldn’t the Regent Prince just slap him to death and replace him with someone else as the King of Zhao?

But the common people loved to hear this kind of story and tended to believe it.

In fact, throughout history, even in official records, there were many examples of famous officials rebuking the monarchs of enemy countries to their faces. The records were full of heroic spirit, and the most examples came from the Qian Kingdom.

Well, the monarchs who were rebuked were mostly monarchs of the Yan Kingdom. As a result, the Yan monarchs were often ashamed in the face of the righteousness of the Qian envoys, and repeatedly succumbed to the literary integrity and the culture and etiquette of the Great Qian.

During its heyday, if you had never been an envoy to a foreign country and never displayed your righteousness, you would be embarrassed to be ranked among the ministers in the imperial court.

Inside a small tavern in Zhao, there were many customers. The small town where the tavern was located was a necessary stop for merchants traveling to Jin through the South Gate Pass, so it was always bustling with activity.

The tavern did not sell dishes, but outside the tavern, there were many vendors selling snacks to go with the wine, from preserved fruits, melon seeds, and peanuts to cooked food. When customers entered the tavern, ordered wine, and took a table, they would send one of their companions to take a look outside and buy some snacks. The tavern would not say anything.

In short, the atmosphere of Zhao’s taverns originated from the fact that Zhao had been a war-torn area a hundred years ago, and the people’s lives were very difficult. At that time, a tavern could be opened with just a piece of cloth, a few benches, and two jars of rice wine. There was really no extra energy to prepare other food and create a better environment. Gradually, everyone developed a similar habit of "bringing their own food," and after a long time, it became a custom.

On the second floor of the tavern, a woman in white was holding a pot of wine and drinking it all in one gulp.

Many martial arts heroes at nearby tables, and even those downstairs, were paying attention to this scene.

They felt that this woman had an extraordinary aura, and her posture while drinking was also very tempting.

Opposite the woman sat a girl, who was focused on eating tangyuan (sweet dumplings).

One big and one small, two women, looked very similar. They should be a mother and daughter.

The security in Zhao was not too bad, but it was not as good as things being left untouched on the road. Especially after the Regent Prince of Great Yan angrily slaughtered the capital of the Liang Kingdom that year, a large number of Liang people migrated into Zhao, causing some small gangs engaged in dark business to spring up like mushrooms after rain.

But no one was foolish enough to see the mother and daughter sitting there alone and go up to harass them.

There were two things to pay attention to when traveling in the martial world:

First, don't dress too luxuriously, otherwise you will easily be seen as a fat sheep; second, female companions should not be too conspicuous and beautiful, otherwise they will easily arouse evil intentions.

This was a common sense that ordinary people knew when traveling long distances. In addition, there had been frequent wars in recent years, and the world was restless. Ordinary people had become bolder, while thieves had become more numerous.

Therefore,

Those who dared to show their faces openly without concealing themselves were mostly truly confident.

There was a storyteller in the tavern, bald, fat-faced, and short. The person helping him play the strings was his daughter, who had a fierce look on her face.

The storyteller's surname was Zhou, and he was telling the story of the war in Chu.

He said that the commander of Fan City was the reincarnation of a savage king, leading tens of thousands of savage soldiers, and had defeated the Xie family army of the Great Chu.

He said that the son of Jingnan Prince and Chen Xianba, the beloved general of the Regent Prince, each led a troop of iron cavalry and strangled Xie Zhuyang, almost preventing him from returning to Guyue City.

He said that the Regent Prince of Great Yan stood alone in front of the army, holding a wuya (black cliff) sword, and fought against eighteen martial arts instructors of the Great Chu imperial family's forbidden army, killing seventeen of them, and only let one person escape after being scared out of his wits.

He said that the Yan army, not only the qipi (beast-like) beasts charging into the battle, but even the civilians pulling carts and transporting food, were also using qipi beasts. With a million iron cavalry of the Great Yan, with one order, they almost pierced a hole in the sky of Chu...

After a series of muddled narrations, there were many loopholes and many things that were difficult to justify. However, the storyteller did not give the listeners below a chance to question him. Wave after wave, round after round, various descriptions and flying sand and rocks stirred up everyone's emotions.

Finally,

He slammed the gavel,

And exclaimed:

“Damn it, this glorious eight-hundred-year-old Chu is probably finished this time.”

Then,

He picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

His daughter put down the strings, picked up a large sieve, jumped off the stage, and began to ask for tips.

The drinkers who had heard the "war report" began to clamor:

"Now that Chu is finished, who will be next?"

"Hey, Chu hasn't been destroyed yet, isn't Yingdu still there?"

"Half of the family's land has been dug up, how much vitality can be left?"

"Is it going to fight the Qian Kingdom?"

"The Yan people aren't made of iron. I think it will take three to five years of recuperation before the Yan people can fight again."

"That's the logic."

"I think the Yan people are very likely to continue fighting. That Regent Prince has conquered half of Chu. This territory is no less than a country. Maybe he will directly lead his troops to the Yan capital and let someone else sit on the old emperor's seat."

"Stop talking nonsense. How many years have you been saying that the Regent Prince is going to rebel? Has he rebelled? Has he rebelled! When my wife wasn't pregnant, you were saying that the Regent Prince was going to rebel. Now my son can already run errands, and you're still saying that he's going to rebel. I think the Regent Prince is a loyal and good man of Yan!"

"That's right, the Regent Prince is a person who considers the overall situation. How could he do something like internal strife?"

The Zhao Kingdom had been ruled by the Yan people. Even though the Yan people were not stationed in the Zhao Kingdom now, the Zhao Kingdom was already a vassal state of the Yan people. Although the people of Zhao had suffered from the war because of the Yan army, the war was over after all. Besides, it was the former king who was foolish enough to fight the Yan people, and as a result, he was taught a lesson by the Yan people. You can't blame the Yan people; you have to blame the foolish former king.

Therefore, in the land of Zhao, there were many people who mentally regarded themselves as "Yan people" and admired the Regent Prince very much.

"It's a pity that I have a family, otherwise I would really want to take a knife and go to Jindong to join the Regent Prince and earn a position in the army. Only in Jindong, under the Prince's command, regardless of your origin, race, or country, can you rise to the top based on your ability!"

Another long-bearded man with a knife said gloatingly, "Haha, you can't go, but I can. I'm planning to go to Nanguan and take the Jin route to Jindong."

Saying that,

He looked at a female knight with a sword sitting next to him in a very heroic manner,

And said:

"I wonder where this female knight is going? If it's on the way, Guan can take care of you."

This rogue knight, Guan Xing, had noticed the young female swordsman sitting at the table next to him drinking wine and eating noodles a long time ago.

That beautiful face, that figure... tsk tsk.

The rogue knight didn't want to use force or other bad intentions, but isn't it reasonable to create an opportunity for a mutual attraction?

Back then, the Regent Prince had joked with the Sword Saint about this martial world, saying that the heroes and heroines of the martial world traveled the world, half of them to help the weak and fight injustice, and the other half to find a date.

They always felt that they could find their other half in the martial world and become a fairy couple.

If that didn't work, they could also taste different styles in the red tents in various places.

To put it bluntly, the Sword Saint and his generation were at the top of the martial world, and the heroes and knights of various sects were a minority. The most were those young heroes and heroines who were pursuing the distance, and there was no essential difference between them and the later literary youths who traveled freely.

Faced with this rogue knight's obvious flirtation,

The female knight glanced at him coldly and ignored him.

But this contempt stung the rogue knight's heart, and he immediately shouted:

"Maybe in the future, we can also be generals under the Prince's command. At that time, you can also..."

"Is it something to be proud of to be with that bastard?" the female knight asked.

"..." The rogue knight.

"What did you say?" At this time, a big man at another table stood up.

There were many people in this tavern who admired the Regent Prince.

The female knight wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, put half a piece of silver on the table, and at the same time loudly replied:

"Zheng Fan, he's just a bastard!"

"You, I'll teach you a lesson for the Prince!"

In any era, there were irrational admirers. Even though the person involved was unaware and could not possibly know, they would fight for their idols.

The female knight pointed her finger forward, and the man's figure immediately froze. The female knight walked past him and kicked him, and the man was knocked to the ground.

Then,

The female knight slightly raised her head, glanced at the pair of white-clothed mother and daughter sitting on the second floor, and directly left the tavern.

"A swordsman," the woman said.

"Fifth rank," the girl said, "But it seems to be more than that. She should have suppressed her rank."

The woman nodded and said, "The sword qi is very pure, not something an ordinary swordsman can compare to."

"She has a feud with that Regent Prince," the girl reminded.

"Yes."

"Let's go, let's get to know her."

"What about the other one?" the woman asked, "The Qian man."

"Call him along."

"Okay."

The girl stood up, and the woman also stood up and left the tavern.

...

The female knight galloped north on horseback. After nightfall, she stayed at another inn.

After taking a bath in her room and coming out to pour water, she found that a new group of people had arrived to stay.

A man was pushing a cart, and two women, one big and one small, were sitting on the cart.

This pair of women, dressed in white, looked like a mother and daughter.

The female knight's gaze lingered on the man pushing the cart for a while, and the man pushing the cart also looked at her.

After a brief exchange of glances, the female knight returned to her room.

Outside, there was a faint noise, and the waiter was helping the guests check in.

The female knight lay down on the bed, closed her eyes, folded her knees, and spread out her hands, as if sleeping or meditating.

But this tranquil atmosphere was soon broken by a knock on the door.

The female knight didn't speak.

The door opened;

The girl walked in with a plate of food and placed it on the table, then very obediently jumped onto a chair.

The female knight sat up, and the adult woman walked in with a pot of wine.

The door wasn't closed, and a man pushing a cart was sitting on the threshold, just smiling honestly.

"I don't know you," the female knight said.

"You will now," the woman replied.

"Why do you want to know me?" the female knight asked.

"Because we may have the same enemy."

The sword beside the female knight was unsheathed. It was an ordinary sword, without any fancy details. You could buy it in an ordinary county town blacksmith shop, not even exquisite;

But at this moment, a sword qi directly rushed over.

The woman waved her hand to block it, and silently resolved the sword qi.

"Sit."

Perhaps this was the way people in the martial world greeted each other, first crossing hands to determine if you were qualified to sit at the same table as me.

The female knight got up from the bed and came to the table and sat down.

"Are you mother and daughter?"

"Yes, and no," the girl replied.

"What about him?" the female knight pointed to the middle-aged man sitting on the threshold, "Is he your father, or her husband?"

"A friend, a friend we met on the road, before you," the girl replied.

"Friends?"

"Yes, she and I both sprained our ankles and couldn't walk, so he pushed us on the road, he's a good person."

"Sprained ankles, can't walk?" The female knight felt absurd.

The girl's eyes were clear and flawless, not the clearness of an ordinary child, but a deepness that explored the mysteries, no doubt, she should be an alchemist, but I don't know how she achieved "rejuvenation."

As for this woman, when she dissolved her sword qi earlier, the surging qi and blood showed that she was a very powerful martial artist.

They sprained their ankles, they couldn't walk, and they needed someone to push them on a cart to travel?

"Does he want to sleep with you?" the female knight looked at the woman.

The woman shook her head and said, "I'm willing."

The female knight looked at the girl again and said, "Could it be you?"

"Hehehe." The girl sneered and said, "He's just a kind-hearted person."

"Oh, he's a weirdo."

"Indeed," the woman echoed.

The girl picked up the wine pot and began to pour wine, "The two of us just came from Chu. We thought the Chu people could stop the Yan people, but who knew they would be defeated and flee."

"Did you escape too?"

"We escaped. Before we escaped, we managed to rescue Xie Zhuyang," the girl replied.

The woman picked up her wine glass and said, "I was almost able to kill the son of Jingnan Prince in the chaotic army, who is the Regent Prince's nominal eldest son."

"Almost?" the female knight asked in confusion.

"He's a lot stronger than I thought. I attacked him by surprise, but I didn't succeed. I just injured him a little, but I was afraid of being surrounded, so I couldn't continue."

The girl said, "I also don't understand why he would appear there, and still be flying the Yan flag."

The female knight laughed and said, "I know that person. His father is the Jingnan Prince, his adoptive father is the Regent Prince. Isn't it only natural that he would lead the Black Dragon Flag to fight for the Yan army?"

The girl shook her head and said, "It's messed up."

The woman echoed, "It's very messed up."

The female knight frowned slightly, feeling that these two women seemed to have a problem with their brains.

"You hate the Regent Prince, don't you?" the girl asked.

"Yes, he killed my master."

The girl nodded and said, "Do you want revenge?"

"I do," the female knight said without hesitation.

"Wait a moment."

The girl put her hands in front of her eyes and slowly pulled them apart, then smiled and confirmed:

"You didn't lie."

"Were you spying on me just now?"

"Just an alchemist's technique. The Silver Armor Guards of the Qian Kingdom often use this trick when interrogating prisoners, but probably, I won't use it better than I do." The girl ate a bite of food. "We plan to go to Jin to take a look, to... Jindong."

"The Regent Prince is in Chu," the female knight reminded.

"He has thousands of troops protecting him, we can't touch him," the girl said.

"So, what are you going to Jindong for?"

"We can't touch him, but we can go see his family. Maybe we'll have a chance to say hello to his family."

"Despicable," the female knight said.

"Yes," the girl nodded.

The female knight leaned forward,

And said:

"But I know that his palace is heavily guarded."

"We know that too, but we're not in a hurry. We'll just take a look. If it's really heavily guarded, then so be it. What if we can find an opportunity?" the woman laughed.

"What about him?" The female knight pointed to the middle-aged man sitting there.

"He's a Qian man. The Regent Prince has led troops to attack Qian several times. As a Qian martial artist, he should be worried for his country, right? Kind-hearted person."

The middle-aged man nodded.

"But as far as I know, anyone who has tried to attack the Prince's Palace, whether they are from the imperial court or from the martial world, has not had a good ending," the female knight reminded again.

The girl "hehe" smiled and said, "If there's no chance, we'll just turn back. In Chu, that's what we did. It's most important to preserve our strength."

"What if you really encounter an opportunity?" the female knight asked.

"That's a strange question. He killed your master, didn't you think about killing his family to avenge him?"

"The wronged have their head, and the debtor has their master. I will settle the debt between me and him, but I won't involve his family."

"You can't be too righteous," the girl reminded, "You look for him, you have no chance of winning, or, you can catch his woman, his children, and try to force him... to submit?"

"He's a hero," the female knight reminded.

"No, as far as I know, he's very sentimental," the girl said firmly, "Trust me, we have our own intelligence channels, and we know him better than you do."

The female knight was stunned and pointed to her nose:

"You know him better than me?"

"Yes," the girl nodded and said, "We've read the Phoenix Nest Guard of Chu's investigation about him, unless you've grown up by his side since you were a child;

Otherwise, we can say with certainty that we must know him better than you do."

The female knight couldn't hold back any longer,

Stood up,

And said:

"I won't accompany you to do such underhanded things."

The girl put her hands over her eyes again and slowly pulled them apart;

After a while,

She sighed helplessly:

"What she said is true again, what a blockhead."

The girl stood up and left her seat, and the woman also stood up, intending to leave with her.

At this time,

The female knight drew her sword,

And said:

"I wouldn't have known if I didn't know, but since I know, I'm sorry.

Since you want to attack his family,

Not only can I not help you,

But tonight,

I can't let you leave this inn alive."

"Hehehe," the girl laughed and said, "There are three of us, you're alone. We're not worried about you leaking secrets, and we don't plan to kill you. You actually said you were going to kill the three of us?"

The female knight shook her head,

And shouted:

"So, are you planning to do things with them too?"

The middle-aged man sitting on the threshold slowly stood up at this moment. His eyes were pure, with a warm and gentle look, and faced with this question,

He opened his mouth and said:

"You're in a hurry;

I was planning to call for help when I was pushing them past Nanguan."

The woman reached out and slapped the girl in the face, and a clear palm print appeared on the girl's face;

The girl who was slapped tilted her head,

And retorted:

"They really didn't lie!"

The lie detector was okay, the girl believed!

But the problem was that they had inexplicably found two people who were okay, but they had become the biggest problem.

"So?" the woman pointed to the two of them, "Being with you, I feel so stupid."

"Without me, you'd be even stupider," the girl retorted, "When choosing a body, you have to grab the one with the biggest breasts."

The sword servant's sword pointed at the woman,

And said:

"I choose her, because she injured the little brother I watched grow up."

"I don't agree."

Chen Daxia took off his bamboo hat,

He didn't wear a sword,

Faced with the sword servant's choice,

He opened his mouth and said, "It's easier to beat the little one."

Alchemists, no matter how rich their methods and how high their rank, are still easier to deal with in a head-on fight.

Martial artists are different.

The sword servant's eyes showed a look of majesty,

And reminded:

"I'm the senior sister."

Chen Daxia nodded and moved towards the girl,

And said:

"Okay."

"Honorable address," the sword servant reminded again.

"Okay, Senior Sister."