Ugly Hero - Chapter 12

Xia Qinyi left Pear Blossom Autumn Water Tower. This time, she once again did not wander around the shops of Fanli City, but returned directly to Huaxia Manor.

Huaxia Manor was located on a mountain a few li outside Fanli City. A hundred years ago, one of Huaxia Manor’s ancestors had accidentally obtained the Phoenix Blood Saber and chosen this mountain outside the city. No one knew what miraculous craftsmanship he had used, but he had actually managed to flatten the summit and move Huaxia Manor out of Fanli City, placing it on the mountain.

Over the past hundred years, Huaxia Manor had produced many martial arts experts, and its businesses had spread across the north and south of the great river. Although the manor was built on a mountaintop, it was not harsh and austere like the Tianqiong Sword Sect. Inside the manor, carved railings, jade steps, waterside pavilions, towers, strange mountains, and unusual stones could be found everywhere.

In the northwest corner of the manor stood a three-story library pavilion. The first and second floors were available to the manor’s disciples, while the third floor could only be entered by the manor masters of each generation.

By Xia Qinyi’s generation, things were somewhat special. At present, there was no manor master in the manor. The three old masters jointly managed Huaxia Manor. The Third Branch Old Master’s meaning was that Xia Qinyi was still young; she should keep the status of heir and train for a few more years.

However, this floor was open to Xia Qinyi.

Xia Qinyi came before a cabinet and took out an ancient scroll. The pages had already yellowed. Written on it were the words: Essentials of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Saber Techniques. Xia Qinyi had long since memorized this book backward and forward. On the last page of the book, there was such a passage:

All my descendants must hold the Phoenix Blood Saber, personally kill the master of the Canglong Sword, and bring the sword to worship before me. If I do not see the Canglong Sword, I will not rest even in death.

Xia Qinyi gently stroked the ink-faded words. This was the handwritten text of that ancestor from a hundred years ago.

Xia Qinyi sighed softly, then looked out the window without expression, her gaze drifting far away.

Three months later.

The forest was dense, miasma curling through the air. Even the scorching sunlight seemed unable to penetrate this place. The sky was always gray and hazy, and the air carried traces of a sinister chill. This was the mysterious southwest.

This place had already become forbidden ground to the righteous path of the martial world. The “Demon Cult,” as the orthodox called it, occupied this region.

Deep within the miasma, inside an underground palace, a long and oppressive passage stretched on, torches burning on both sides.

In such a passage, every sound would be magnified several times. From the other end of the corridor came a burst of soft, scattered footsteps. A woman in white walked out from the darkness, revealing her graceful figure. It was precisely Gongsun Qing.

Every few steps, Gongsun Qing would twist one of the torches. Along with the muffled sounds of hidden mechanisms, Gongsun Qing entered an open hall.

The hall was solemn and imposing. Fire basins sat on racks around it, and Ghost King banners hung on three of the walls. On the entire wall facing the entrance, enormous statues of the Ghost King and Ghost Mother were carved. Under the dim light, the whole hall seemed deeply eerie and strange.

Beneath the statues were two stone seats, one large and one small. On the main seat sat a thin man wearing a Ghost King mask, while the smaller seat beside him was empty. Below the steps stood two rows of black-clothed people.

Gongsun Qing quickly walked forward and pressed her right hand over her heart. “Gongsun Qing greets the Cult Master.”

“Mm… Sit.” The man’s voice was hoarse and low.

Gongsun Qing thanked him, then walked calmly to the empty seat and sat down.

“Cult Master, this subordinate has something to report.”

The one who stepped out was none other than Huanghuo, who had previously followed beside Gongsun Qing. Gongsun Qing stared at Huanghuo and narrowed her long, fox-like eyes.

“Speak.”

“Yes, Cult Master. Three months ago, this subordinate and Xiuluo followed the Saintess to Tianqiong Mountain and completed the task given by the Cult Master. The Saintess also wanted to seize the Phoenix Blood Saber while she had the chance, but the Ugly Hero disrupted the plan and we failed. Afterward, the two of us obeyed the Saintess’s order and took the Ugly Hero away. But in the end, the Saintess actually let this person go. This subordinate also heard that the Ugly Hero studied under Jun Moxiao, and the weapon in his hand is none other than the Canglong Sword, which was as famous as the Phoenix Blood Saber a hundred years ago. At that time, the Ugly Hero was already injured. We could have killed him and seized the Canglong Sword to strengthen the heavenly might of the Holy Cult, yet the Saintess told us to let him go.”

“Oh? Qing’er, is what Huanghuo says true?”

“In reply to Cult Master, every word is true.”

“Let this seat hear your explanation.”

“Reporting to Cult Master, at that time, this subordinate did not know that the weapon in the Ugly Hero’s hand was the Canglong Sword. I imagine Right Envoy Huanghuo also only heard of this matter recently. The Ugly Hero suddenly appeared one year ago, traveling through the various sects and schools to steal from them. Among the orthodox sects, his reputation is utterly notorious, and he is even the top target of every major bounty hunter. At present, the Holy Cult is in need of people. This subordinate observed the Ugly Hero and saw that despite his young age, his skills are extraordinary. I originally intended to design a way to make him submit to the Holy Cult. But Right Envoy Huanghuo, without asking right from wrong, fought a great battle with the Ugly Hero after rescuing him and ruined this subordinate’s arrangement. The Ugly Hero was already injured, yet he was still able to escape from Right Envoy Huanghuo’s hands. This further proves how extraordinary this person is. Now, the orthodox figures already believe that the Ugly Hero comes from the Holy Cult. I believe that before long, there will be no place left for him in the Central Plains martial world. The Canglong Sword is only a dead object. If we can recruit both the Canglong Sword and the Ugly Hero into the Holy Cult, would that not accomplish two goals at once? On the contrary, Right Envoy Huanghuo first disobeyed orders, then afterward tried to accuse me instead. This subordinate truly understands him less and less.”

After Huanghuo finished hearing Gongsun Qing’s words, his face went pale. He knelt on the ground. “Cult Master, this subordinate’s loyalty to the Holy Cult can be witnessed by the sun and moon. I absolutely have no second thoughts, Cult Master!”

The man on the stone seat stared at Huanghuo, who was prostrated on the ground, for a long time before slowly saying, “This matter ends here.”

“Thank you, Cult Master!”

Everyone left the hall one after another. Gongsun Qing and Huanghuo walked at the very back of the group. Seeing that the others had gone far away, Gongsun Qing turned around and pressed a finger against Huanghuo’s chest. With those fox-like eyes, she looked at Huanghuo with a smile that was not quite a smile, the corner of her lips slightly raised.

“Recognize your own status clearly. Do not think that if you bring me down, you can sit in my position.”

After saying that, Gongsun Qing tapped Huanghuo’s chest, then turned and left.

…

In three months, the fact that the Canglong Sword was in the Ugly Hero’s hands became known to everyone in the jianghu.

The five great sects had already defined the Ugly Hero as a Demon Cultist. Back then, Jun Moxiao had belonged to no sect or school. Although her behavior was eccentric and her temperament strange, she had nothing to do with the Demon Cult. Who would have thought that a hundred years later, her successor would fall so far?

Lu Nanzhu’s popularity among the common people rapidly soared. In restaurants and teahouses, any storytelling session about the Ugly Hero would be packed full. In particular, the legend of the Ugly Hero fighting Xia Qinyi, the Young Miss of Huaxia Manor, on Tianqiong Mountain, as well as the clash between the Canglong Sword and the Phoenix Blood Saber, had been performed in several different versions.

On the dirt road outside Qingzhou City, a young woman in green wore a bamboo hat on her head and carried a sword in her hand. A red sword tassel hung from the hilt. She walked alone on the road into the city.

At this time, the sky had already grown dark, and there were few pedestrians on the road. When she reached a patch of woods, the young woman slowly stopped.

“The three of you have followed me for so long. It is about time you show yourselves.”

“Hehehe, Big Brother, we’ve been discovered.” The first to walk out from behind a tree was a burly man holding a steel saber. There was a fierce-looking scar on his face.

“Little lady, what sharp eyes you have. This place is quiet and empty. Since you called us brothers out, do you want to play with us?”

“B-B-Big Brother, l-let, let this little brother have a taste too.”

“Hahahahaha…” The three strong men laughed without restraint, obscene expressions on their faces.

The young woman in green slowly turned around, the sword tassel swaying gently.

“Will the three of you come one by one, or all together?” the young woman asked softly, without the slightest trace of panic.

“Hahahahaha!” The three laughed together. The burly man in the lead glanced at the sword tassel and licked his cracked lips. “Little lady, however you want to play, we brothers will listen to you.”

“Then come together.” As soon as her voice fell, the young woman in green had already charged toward the three of them.

Before the three could react, the young woman had already neatly flown up and kicked the stuttering man in the face. Before landing, she twisted her waist and kicked the scarred man in the chest. Then, using that force, she leaped high into the air and quickly chopped her right foot down, viciously striking the top of the leader’s head.

All three men fell to the ground. The leader lost consciousness. The young woman landed gracefully, the light veil of the bamboo hat on her head swaying and revealing what was beneath it.

The woman’s face was still covered with half a veil, and only half her face could be seen. Beneath a smooth, fair forehead were a pair of long, ink-black brows and eyes as bright as stars.

“Ah…” The scarred man clutched his chest and stared in disbelief at the swaying sword tassel.

The young woman in green had dealt with three burly men in a single move, yet she had not taken their lives. Without saying a word, she turned and left.

According to jianghu rules, swords were divided into literary and martial swords. Martial swords did not hang tassels. Whenever scholars carried swords, they would hang sword tassels to indicate that they did not know martial arts, making it convenient for others to distinguish them and avoid unnecessary sparring and trouble.

Ordinary jianghu wanderers would not attack someone carrying a literary sword.

These three men had seen that the young woman in green carried a literary sword and was alone, which was why crooked thoughts had arisen in them. They had not expected to run into an expert.

The young woman in green quickly walked out of the woods and raised her hand to press her shoulder.

“It should be fully healed now…”

This young woman in green was none other than the Ugly Hero, Lu Nanzhu, who had stirred up a wave of excitement in the jianghu and then vanished without a trace for three months.

As for what happened three months ago: after she left Tianqiong Mountain with Gongsun Qing’s group of three, they had not even gone ten li down the mountain when one of the men suddenly attacked her. She fought a great battle with him, narrowly won, escaped, and ran all the way back to Tianshan.

At that time, the situation on the arena had been urgent. Lu Nanzhu had used her full strength to exchange palms with one of the men. Added to the internal force she had consumed in her battle with Xia Qinyi, when the other man struck her shoulder, she could not spare any internal force to protect herself. Her sword arm was injured. Fortunately, she had the Silver Dragon Inner Armor protecting her body, so her shoulder was not shattered. After escaping back to Shiyin Village, she spent one month recuperating. Having learned from this lesson, Lu Nanzhu then spent more than another month at the bottom of Tianshan Valley practicing martial moves until she had fully mastered all the techniques she had “learned” at the Demon-Slaying Assembly.

Although this trip to Tianqiong Mountain had been dangerous, it had also allowed Lu Nanzhu to experience the excitement of the jianghu. After hiding in Tianshan for three months, Lu Nanzhu could no longer suppress the yearning in her heart and ran out again.

She knew that the identity of the Ugly Hero could not be used for the time being, so she came up with a bold decision. She took off the Silver Dragon Inner Armor, resumed her identity as a young woman, copied Gongsun Qing’s style by wearing a bamboo hat, and tied on a face veil. She hid the Canglong Sword once more at the bottom of the cold pool in Tianshan, used her meager savings to buy an old literary sword, and set out alone.

But no matter what, Lu Nanzhu had not expected that in just three short months, the jianghu had changed!

Along the way, she could hear people discussing her everywhere, whether ordinary commoners or jianghu figures.

Not only did they know about the Canglong Sword, they also knew that her master was the Eccentric Hero. Even she herself had inexplicably become a Demon Cultist!

Lu Nanzhu was utterly stunned. In these three months, what exactly had happened?