Ugly Hero - Chapter 13

Before the city gates closed, Lu Nanzhu entered Qingzhou City. The famous Ugly Hero actually did not even have enough silver to stay at an inn.

Lu Nanzhu touched the few pieces of broken silver remaining in her robes. In the outskirts of the city, she found a ruined temple. She gave a graceful bow to the broken deity statue, then flipped up onto a crossbeam, preparing to spend the night there.

Night fell. Lu Nanzhu opened her eyes and gripped the hilt of the sword in her robes. After a few breaths, faint conversation came from outside the temple. Before long, a group of people pushed open the temple doors and walked in.

Lu Nanzhu turned her head and looked. It was a group of beggars.

She slowed her breathing and heard the beggars below each find a place to sit. Then they began talking about begging: which household gave fresh food, where they could beg for a few copper coins…

After listening for a while, Lu Nanzhu realized that this ruined temple was the beggars’ territory. She slowly closed her eyes.

“Hey, brothers, I have a way to make money. Do you want to take a look?”

Lu Nanzhu curved the corner of her lips. Her days in Shiyin Village were dry and monotonous. In the past, whenever she went out, she had only glanced at things in passing. This time, with the mindset of traveling and gaining experience, she had slowed her steps. Everything she saw felt fresh and interesting.

“Look, what is this…”

A beggar took a piece of sheepskin from his robes. On it were drawings of a person and a sword.

“What is this? A wanted criminal? I’m not doing anything that’ll cost me my life!”

“Lai Er, how have you been living these days? You don’t even recognize him?”

“He’s wearing a mask. Who would recognize him?”

Lu Nanzhu’s heart jumped. She opened her eyes, slightly turned her head, and looked down…

Five beggars were gathered around a piece of sheepskin. By the dim yellow oil lamp, she could see that what was drawn on it was precisely the Ugly Hero!

“The Ugly Hero, know him? He’s worth money now!”

“The Ugly Hero? You mean that one, that one… the storytellers talk about every day?”

“Mm, that’s right. A great lord gave me this sheepskin. As long as we discover the Ugly Hero’s whereabouts, we’ll be rewarded with ten taels of gold. Don’t say this elder brother doesn’t look after you. Look carefully!”

“This… dressed in rags and wearing a mask. How are we supposed to recognize him?”

“Here, see this sword? The legendary Canglong Sword, as famous as the Phoenix Blood Saber. As long as you see someone dressed about the same, holding the Canglong Sword, immediately go to the City God Temple and tell me. Once we get the reward, each person gets half.”

The lamp, which had little oil left, was blown out. The five beggars each lay down.

“Big Brother, what do you think those great lords want with the Ugly Hero? I heard people say the Ugly Hero is a good person who robs the rich to help the poor.”

“Why do you care so much? There’s money to earn, and you don’t want to earn it? He robbed the rich to help the poor, but he never gave any to us. Besides, we’re not harming him. We’re just reporting a message if we see him and running an errand. Go to sleep!”

…

Snoring rose all through the temple, but Lu Nanzhu could no longer sleep.

If she had not guessed wrong, the reason so many people wanted to find her had to be the Canglong Sword!

The next day, Lu Nanzhu waited until the beggars left one after another before flipping down from the crossbeam.

She walked into a teahouse, chose an inconspicuous corner, ordered a pot of tea, and took dry rations from her pack.

She had only eaten halfway when a man in a long robe came in. He wore half a mask on his face and held a bamboo pole in his hand. A white cloth strip hung from the pole, and on it were written three large characters: Know-It-All.

Lu Nanzhu raised her head and glanced over. When the man saw that the seat where he sat every day was already occupied, he froze slightly, then sat at the seat beside Lu Nanzhu.

Lu Nanzhu swallowed the dry ration in her mouth, pulled up her veil, and was just about to leave when the tea and snacks for the man at the next table arrived. The waiter pulled down the white cloth draped over his shoulder and carefully wiped the table before putting the things down. Politely, he said, “Sir, you come here every day, and it’s already been a full three months. You must truly be earning gold by the bucket.”

Know-It-All smiled but did not answer.

“Sir, how do you know so many jianghu matters?”

“Little waiter, asking questions costs money.”

The waiter scratched his head. “I don’t have money. Sir charges one tael of gold per sentence. I wouldn’t earn that much silver in a year. Please enjoy. I wish you flourishing business.”

Know-It-All nodded. The waiter turned and left.

Lu Nanzhu slowly put down the bundle in her hand, glanced at Know-It-All without leaving a trace, pulled down her veil, and filled the empty cup before her.

Two shichen later, the number of guests in the hall gradually increased. Five people walked in from outside, attracting Lu Nanzhu’s attention.

The one leading them was a young master who had just come of age. Four attendants followed behind him. The man held a sword in his hand and walked straight to Know-It-All before sitting down.

He pushed a gold ingot in front of Know-It-All and asked directly, “Where is the Ugly Hero?”

Lu Nanzhu’s fingers trembled around her teacup. The man noticed the green-clothed young woman at the neighboring table. Seeing the literary sword placed on her table, he withdrew his gaze and did not have his men drive her away.

Know-It-All put away the ingot and replied, “North.”

With a “pa,” before the young man could speak, the attendant standing behind him slammed his palm heavily onto the table. “You jianghu swindlers really know how to do business. We came all this way, and every Know-It-All in every place said he was north. Qingzhou City is already the last stop. Any farther north is a godforsaken wilderness. Open your eyes wide and look clearly at who is sitting before you. How dare you speak nonsense?”

The young man’s expression carried some displeasure, but in the end, he waved his hand, signaling for the attendant to step back. “Sir, we came from the south. In every city along the way, whenever we encountered a Know-It-All, we offered payment. This is already Qingzhou. I’m afraid your answer cannot satisfy me.”

“Fourth Young Master has come from afar. How would I dare deceive you?”

The young man revealed a shocked expression and lowered his voice. “Sir knows me?”

“If I have not guessed wrong, Young Master is Xia Qinrun, Fourth Young Master of the fourth branch of Huaxia Manor.”

Seeing that his identity had been guessed, Xia Qinrun put away the displeasure on his face. “Sir’s eyes are sharp indeed. It is precisely this humble one. May I ask, Sir, where exactly is the Ugly Hero?”

Know-It-All raised one finger. “One tael of gold.”

Xia Qinrun smiled. “Easy enough.”

“North.”

“But farther north leaves the Central Plains. Could the Ugly Hero be hiding in the wilderness?”

“Young Master need only go north. You will naturally find him.”

“Is the Ugly Hero truly Jun Moxiao’s successor?”

“Absolutely true.”

“Then the martial arts manual left behind by the Eccentric Hero is also in his hands?”

“That is correct.”

“May I ask, Sir, with the strength of the five of us combined, can we defeat the Ugly Hero?”

“You may fight him.”

Lu Nanzhu came out of the teahouse feeling chills run down her back.

She finally understood why everyone in the jianghu knew her affairs. From what Xia Qinrun mentioned, Know-It-All was clearly not a single person.

Where exactly had these people come from? Just now, as Lu Nanzhu listened, cold sweat kept breaking out. Although Know-It-All had not directly said she lived in Tianshan, Lu Nanzhu felt that they knew.

At the very least, regarding the Canglong Sword and Heavenly Demon Art, what Know-It-All said was true.

Who exactly understood her affairs so clearly? Over the past year, she had been careful in everything. She had become the target of bounty hunters purely because she was the “Ugly Hero”…

Lu Nanzhu tightened her grip on the sword in her hand. All these strange changes had happened after the Demon-Slaying Assembly at Tianqiong Mountain.

She was not surprised that the Canglong Sword had been recognized. After all, there had been so many people present at the time.

But how could the matter of Heavenly Demon Art be explained?

Could it be Gongsun Qing? Or was it someone else she had overlooked?

Perhaps the Know-It-Alls had inferred from the Canglong Sword, which had disappeared for a hundred years, that she was the Eccentric Hero’s successor. That would also make sense…

But how could she explain their confident, definite answer pointing straight to the “north”?

Lu Nanzhu’s mind was in turmoil. She kept feeling that she had missed something very important, but even after racking her brains, she could not understand how she had been exposed so thoroughly when she had always been so cautious!

Lu Nanzhu did not dare delay. She whipped her horse onward and hurried back to Tianshan.

Even the young master from Huaxia Manor in the south had already reached Qingzhou. In the future, more and more people would probably gather in the north. Once Tianshan was exposed, Shiyin Village would certainly suffer disaster.

Seven days later, Lu Nanzhu returned to Tianshan. Standing beneath the enormous stone monument several people tall, Lu Nanzhu felt sourness in her heart. A hundred years ago, with only a single stone monument, her master had made the people of the martial world stop in fear and had protected Shiyin Village for a hundred years of peace. In her master’s hands, no one had dared covet the Canglong Sword. Yet now that these things had been passed into Lu Nanzhu’s hands, they had brought disaster to Shiyin Village.

Along the way, Lu Nanzhu had thought of many methods. The safest was to bring out the five remaining households in the village, then steal some silver herself, find a good place, buy a few houses, and let the villagers move there.

As long as she abandoned the name of the Ugly Hero and lived under the identity of Lu Nanzhu, those who came searching for the Ugly Hero would only find an empty village. Sooner or later, this storm would pass.

This was the safest method. Lu Nanzhu did not have the confidence to do as the Eccentric Hero had back then and resist the world with her strength alone.

But when Lu Nanzhu stood before the enormous stone monument and looked at those flamboyant, dragon-flying-and-phoenix-dancing characters, her heart suddenly ached.

A thick sense of sorrow and helplessness swept through her heart. She had inherited the Eccentric Hero’s mantle, yet had fallen to such a state.

Standing below the huge stone monument, Lu Nanzhu lowered her head in shame. She had not even tried to resist before choosing to run away.

Was she no longer going to search for the clues her father had left behind? Even if not for revenge, as someone’s child, how could she not even know her own parents’ names?

Was she really going to bear the identity of a Demon Cultist and withdraw from the jianghu?

Seal the Canglong Sword at the bottom of the pool, bury this body’s Heavenly Demon Art, and also… the owner of the Phoenix Blood Saber, Xia Qinyi. Back then, Lu Nanzhu had solemnly regarded her as her destined opponent. After only one match with no clear victor, was she going to hide away cowardly?

Lu Nanzhu clenched her fists. In the end, she did not discuss relocation with the villagers. Instead, she went straight to the bottom of Tianshan Valley, dove into the cold pool, and retrieved the Canglong Sword.

Lu Nanzhu’s nature was originally peaceful and without desire for conflict. Perhaps she had been influenced by the Eccentric Hero. Perhaps she had seen the wonders of the outside world and was unwilling to fall silent like this. Or perhaps… there were still too many wishes in her heart that had not yet been fulfilled.

Many reasons mixed together, causing Lu Nanzhu to choose a path completely opposite to her previous decision.

Once again, on the dirt road entering Qingzhou, there was a green-clothed young woman wearing a bamboo hat. In her hand, she held a literary sword, and on her back, she carried a long box.

Inside the wooden box were the Canglong Sword coveted by countless people, a mask, a shabby outfit, and a silver-white inner armor.

Lu Nanzhu did not know exactly who Know-It-All was, nor had she figured out how she had been exposed.

However, none of that mattered anymore.

Hadn’t Know-It-All instructed the jianghu people to go north to find her?

Fine. Then Lu Nanzhu would bring along the Ugly Hero’s outfit and head south.

She decided to do something big in the south. Ideally, it would shake the entire martial world and let everyone know:

The Ugly Hero was in the south!

A vast jianghu. A young girl. A mask.

One set of Heavenly Demon Art. One Canglong Sword.

Lu Nanzhu officially began the jianghu road that belonged to her.

Author’s Note:

Today’s update is here. Little Lu has officially stepped into the jianghu. Little Lu will have many scenes opposite Xia Qinyi—children of the jianghu, with grudges, love, and hatred.

Of course, Little Lu will not always be dressed as a man in front of Xia Qinyi~