Ugly Hero - Chapter 1

The west wind swept up yellow sand. Withered trees, a deep well, earthen walls, and a fence.

Inside the courtyard, a farm boy was playing with a little girl who had not yet reached marriageable age…

“Ugly Hero! Are you really the Ugly Hero?!”

“That’s right.”

“Why are you wearing a mask?”

“Because I am as my name suggests. The word ‘ugly’ comes first.”

“I don’t believe you unless you take off your mask and let me see!”

“Who said a great hero must be charming, elegant, and as graceful as a jade tree in the wind? That is nothing more than the wishful thinking of mediocre people like you!”

…

“You little brat! Instead of going to the fields to help your father work, you ran here to play tricks? And you too, Guihua! You’re going crazy along with your brother?”

At the entrance to the courtyard appeared a sturdy woman wearing a coarse homespun ruqun.

The woman’s voice was full and powerful as she roared at the boy and girl in the courtyard. Holding a broom in her hand, she strode over with great momentum. It looked like someone was about to be in trouble!

Seeing this, the boy pulled off the crudely made wooden mask on his face and rushed toward the earthen wall beside him. He braced both hands on the edge of the wall and sprang up onto the top in one go!

The girl stuck her tongue out at her brother, picked up the mask he had dropped, and slipped back into the house.

The burly woman shouted furiously at the boy on the wall, “Zhuzi! Have you gone mad after listening to a few days of storytelling? All day long, you jump around pretending to be the Ugly Hero, don’t do farm work, and even trample the courtyard wall. Watch your hide!”

The boy called Zhuzi turned back and made a face at his mother. Then, with a “great roc spreading its wings” pose, he jumped down from the wall.

He shouted loudly as he went, “I am the Ugly Hero!”

Fallen blossoms; a lone figure stands. In the fine rain, swallows fly in pairs.

Jiangnan.

Inside Pear Blossom Autumn Water Tower, every seat was occupied. Beneath the storytelling platform, the seats at the very front were filled with wealthy gentry dressed in silk and satin. By the windows on both sides sat jianghu wanderers dressed in short martial outfits. Some wore bamboo hats, while others held weapons in their arms and leaned against pillars, drinking wine from their bowls as they turned their heads to look down at the misty waves outside the tower, or gazed into the distance at the green mountains and blue sky.

The gentle, elegant scenery of Jiangnan always made people lose themselves and linger. Even so, while these people admired the scenery, they all had their ears pricked, waiting.

At the outermost edge of the hall were commoners who had no money to buy seats. Shoulder pressed against shoulder, they stood on tiptoe and craned their necks to look inside the hall.

Pear Blossom Autumn Water Tower had invited the famous “Mr. Buyu” to tell twelve sessions of stories here. Today was already the third day, and the hall was packed with no empty seats.

“Pa!” The storyteller’s wooden block struck the table, and the hall immediately fell silent. Even the jianghu wanderers immersed in Jiangnan’s misty rain drew back their gazes and looked toward the high platform.

“To continue from where we left off: in Youzhou, the Ugly Hero fought the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun! On this day, dark clouds pressed down upon the city, and there were few travelers on the road. A torrential rainstorm seemed about to fall! The Eighteen Riders of Yanyun had arranged to battle the Ugly Hero at the summit of Qingfeng Mountain! The Eighteen Riders of Yanyun laid out the Coiling Dragon Formation. In an instant, murderous aura howled in all directions! But the Ugly Hero remained calm and unhurried, strolling into the formation as if walking idly. Clang! His treasured sword left its sheath! What the Ugly Hero held was still that rusty iron sword! Truly, it answered that old saying of the jianghu: in the hands of a true master, grass and trees… can all become weapons!”

“Pa!” Mr. Buyu stretched out his tone and, matching the atmosphere, struck the wooden block again.

“Good!” The guests below all cheered together, listening with great relish!

At the doorway stood a thickset man with a little boy with a high forehead riding on his neck. Hearing this, the little boy widened his eyes, grabbed his father’s ears, and asked curiously, “Father, what are the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun?”

The man gave a simple, honest laugh, adjusted the child on his neck, and replied, “The Eighteen Riders of Yanyun are famous bounty hunters from the fourteen prefectures of Youzhou. They specialize in killing bad people and collecting silver.”

“But Father, didn’t you say the Ugly Hero is a good person who robs the rich to help the poor? Then why do the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun want to catch him?”

The man was stumped. After thinking for a long while, he patiently replied, “You’re still young. When you grow up, you’ll understand.”

“Make way, make way! The Young Miss has arrived!”

Hearing the voice, the commoners on the outer edge consciously squeezed to both sides. The crowd, packed shoulder to shoulder, actually forced open a path.

A middle-aged man dressed like a wealthy house steward led the way in front. Behind him walked a young girl in the prime of youth.

This girl had a delicate figure and was petite in stature. She wore a fiery red short martial outfit. On each of her shoulders lay a thick, glossy black braid that reached her chest. The ends of her braids were tied with red cords, and on her feet were a pair of colorful mandarin-duck shoes. Her chin was slightly raised, a smile hung at the corner of her lips, and her large, bright eyes carried three parts pride. She was undoubtedly the “Young Miss” the servant had spoken of.

Closely following behind the “Young Miss” was a young man dressed in a black short martial outfit. His steps were steady and square, and there was a fierce wind beneath his feet, yet not the slightest sound could be heard when he landed. If an expert were present, they would be able to tell at a glance that this person was a master of qinggong.

In the man’s arms, he guarded an entirely fiery red saber. The hilt was a phoenix spreading its wings in flight. The wings served as the handguard, the body as the hilt, and a ruby was embedded in the phoenix’s eye as its pupil. The dazzling ruby made the phoenix exude an aura of nirvana and rebirth. Even more unbelievable was that the blade and hilt of this saber were perfectly integrated as one whole. Even a divine weapon could hardly surpass it.

At the very back followed two rows of household servants. The group entered the hall without obstruction. The “Young Miss” did not glance sideways and walked straight to the only empty seat at the very front of the viewing area before sitting down.

At this moment, everyone seated in the hall was a regular customer of Pear Blossom Autumn Water Tower. Pear Blossom Autumn Water Tower was known as the number one tower under heaven. Back when it was built, no one knew what miraculous craftsmanship the builder had used, but they had actually constructed this tower on the Misty Waves River. Surrounded by water on all four sides, with nothing to support it, it looked as if it had risen straight out of the river. To this day, it had already stood for a hundred years without collapsing.

Pear Blossom Autumn Water Tower belonged to Huaxia Manor. Huaxia Manor had risen to prominence a hundred years ago. After a century of accumulation, the present Huaxia Manor was not only a martial family that dominated its region, its businesses were also spread across the north and south of the great river. It was exceedingly wealthy and noble.

The only person who could be called “Young Miss” was Xia Qinyi alone, the next manor master personally chosen by Huaxia Manor.

And that fiery red saber was precisely the divine weapon passed down through generations of Huaxia Manor: the Phoenix Blood Saber!

Mr. Buyu’s words flowed like pearls, and the “battle” between the Ugly Hero and the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun had reached an exciting part. Even so, the jianghu wanderers sitting in the corners still noticed Xia Qinyi’s arrival.

There was no other reason. The Phoenix Blood Saber was a divine weapon that everyone in the jianghu dreamed of possessing. To say it could cut iron like mud or sever a hair blown against its edge was still not enough to describe the preciousness of this saber.

Legend had it that the manor master of Huaxia Manor back then had obtained this divine weapon by a twist of fate, and only then led Huaxia Manor from an unknown little estate to a great family that held decisive influence throughout the martial world.

Even if the Phoenix Blood Saber were held by an ordinary person, it would be enough to make jianghu people of average skill feel deep fear. Not to mention, it also contained a mysterious power that had allowed a family to rise. From this, one could glimpse how extraordinary it was.

“Good!” Thunderous applause rang through the hall. The cheering crowd blocked the covetous gazes.

Xia Qinyi took a sip of tea, then turned her face and asked, “Uncle Fu, what is Mr. Buyu talking about this time?” It seemed… especially popular.

“In reply to Young Miss, this time the tower invited Mr. Buyu to tell twelve sessions in a row. He is speaking about the new rising star who has recently and mysteriously appeared in the jianghu: the Ugly Hero.”

With a “pa,” Xia Qinyi slammed the teacup heavily onto the table, splashing out quite a bit of tea.

Xia Fu hurriedly bent at the waist and asked carefully, “Young Miss, is something wrong?”

Hearing this, Xia Qinyi’s cheeks flushed pink. Her expression changed several times. After pondering for a moment, she finally said, “From now on, all businesses under Huaxia Manor are forbidden to mention the Ugly Hero. They are even less allowed to do business with that ugly freak!”

“Yes, this servant understands.”

“Uncle Fu, make Mr. Buyu stop talking about him!”

A trace of difficulty flashed across Xia Fu’s face. While observing Xia Qinyi’s expression, he carefully discussed it with her. “Young Miss, you also know that Mr. Buyu is a master. Being able to invite this elder here was already not easy. This…”

Xia Qinyi snorted and said unwillingly, “Then… let him finish speaking. This young miss will not listen to today’s story.”

After saying that, she rose and left. Her two braids followed their owner, swinging in a playful arc.

The black-clothed man immediately followed with the Phoenix Blood Saber in his arms. Xia Qinyi walked extremely fast, as if she did not want to stay there for even another moment!

Hmph! That thief! Pervert, lecherous thief, ugly freak! Is he worthy of bearing the word “hero”?

Why did the Young Miss of Huaxia Manor have such deep resentment toward the jianghu’s new rising star, the Ugly Hero?

The story must begin from three months ago…

Huaxia Manor was exceedingly wealthy. As the next manor master, Xia Qinyi’s food, clothing, and daily necessities were luxurious to a jaw-dropping degree. In her room, open flames were never lit. For illumination, she used East Sea night pearls the size of bowls.

This year, a young wandering hero suddenly and mysteriously rose to prominence in the jianghu. No one knew his sect, his master, or his family background. All they knew was that, according to what he himself said, his appearance was ugly. In order not to frighten the world, he wore a mask all day long. After entering the world, he did not submit a visiting card to any sect, nor did he join any force in the jianghu. He came and went alone, taking pleasure in “robbing the rich to help the poor.” People of the jianghu called him the “Ugly Hero.”

In these times, there were plenty of people with some martial ability who “robbed the rich to help the poor.” Since they were difficult to catch, the authorities usually turned a blind eye to petty thieves and robbers, and the major sects were even less likely to interfere. People had long since grown accustomed to it.

So why was this Ugly Hero the most famous one?

Because his way of “robbing the rich” was too special and too bold. Ordinary thieves would at most steal from or rob the wealthy households in a city. But this Ugly Hero never robbed ordinary commoners. Instead, he specifically targeted renowned martial elders and powerful, prestigious sects!

In the half year since his debut, nearly all the great powers of the jianghu had been visited by the Ugly Hero. Even more bizarrely, among all those wealthy families and major sects, not a single person had managed to catch him!

It was said that one must not touch a tiger’s backside. Yet this Ugly Hero not only touched it, he even smacked it a few times! In less than half a year, the name “Ugly Hero” spread throughout the entire jianghu.

Three months ago, the Ugly Hero suddenly became interested and actually set his sights on Huaxia Manor!

That day, Xia Qinyi was bathing in the hot spring pool. The area outside the door was heavily guarded, yet the Ugly Hero somehow swaggered openly into Young Miss Xia’s bathing pool. After “conveniently” taking away several of Xia Qinyi’s beloved pieces of jewelry that she had just removed, he also took the East Sea night pearl that Young Miss Xia had placed inside the pool for illumination. Naturally… he also saw Young Miss Xia completely.

And that was not even the end of it. The Ugly Hero not only ignored Young Miss Xia’s “scolding,” and saw what he should not have seen, he even gave Young Miss Xia a disdainful cold snort. That feeling…

It was as if he was rather dissatisfied with Young Miss Xia’s figure. As if Young Miss Xia’s ice-like skin and jade-like bones were not as tempting as that night pearl!

The Ugly Hero pocketed the night pearl Xia Qinyi used for lighting, causing her to clean up the aftermath in the dark. Moreover, Xia Qinyi could only swallow this “loss.” Not only could she not make it public, she even had to “cover” for the Ugly Hero.

This grudge was something Xia Qinyi would absolutely never let go of!

“Thief, lecherous scoundrel, ugly freak. Just you wait!”

Author’s Note:

Hello, everyone. I am Qing Jun Mo Xiao. Thank you all for reading my new book. In the first chapter of this new book, please allow me to first recommend my old work, The Female General and the Eldest Princess. The full book has 580,000+ characters and is already completed. New friends are welcome to go devour the old book.

And old friends, wave your hands, shake your bodies, and let me see some familiar faces, all right?

Let me talk a little about the plan for Ugly Hero. According to my personality, I should be updating daily until completion, so please feel free to add it to your favorites. If something comes up, I will ask for leave in advance. My Weibo is: Jinjiang yuri author Qing Jun Mo Xiao.

Also, a new book means a new atmosphere. In order to force myself to pay attention to details, Ugly Hero will implement a “one word worth a thousand gold” system.

While reading, if you discover any typos, please leave a comment. For each character, I will send you a red envelope of 1,000 Jinjiang coins. This will be based on the first person to leave a comment.

That is all.