"Chen Xiaofei, it really has been a long time."
The man in the bamboo hat stepped forward, his gloomy, hoarse voice sounding as though it were being squeezed through clenched teeth.
Facing the politeness displayed by a stranger, Chen Xiaofei always responded in kind.
"Who the hell are you?"
The man slowly lifted his bamboo hat, revealing a startling scar across his face.
Even the trio opposite him couldn't help but startle the moment they saw it.
"Don't you remember me? That slash of yours nearly cost me my life back then, and your blade wound has never healed." Xu Wei probably wanted to smile, but because of the huge scar on his face, he could only twitch the corner of his mouth.
"Hey, hey, are you here to exact revenge?" Xia Yun nudged him with her elbow. "You said you came looking for some fun—turns out the fun is you."
"This isn't looking for fun, this is getting payback."
"No, who the hell are you really? I'm suing you for defamation." Chen Xiaofei was taken aback; how could someone start extorting him right off the bat?
"Brother Chen." Gu Chenwan cupped his fists from behind. "The two of us mean no harm, and we have no malice toward you. We're after Niu San behind you. Can you let us settle this between ourselves?"
"Me?"
Niu San felt even more dizzy. He pointed at himself, speechless. "Is there something of mine you cut off?"
"I might not be fearless, but I'm not stupid. The moment I saw you last time, I felt something was off, and when I thought about it later, it all made sense. Did this little punk Niu San sleep with your woman?" Chen Xiaofei wore an expression of sudden realization, though his face quickly turned troubled. "Though I despise that kind of behavior, he's still my brother, and he hasn't even gone back to see our dad yet. How about I pay you something to let it go?"
Niu San caught on: "Here to catch an adulterer? Which one of your women is it? Lili, Yuanyuan, Fangfang, or Cuihua?"
"You live such a wild life?"
Chen Xiaofei was baffled.
"No, it's just that those few seem to have husbands," Niu San explained shyly.
"Smack."
Xia Yun leaped up and slapped Niu San on the head. "Mother was right about you."
"Do you really not remember me?"
Xu Wei stepped forward again, glaring fiercely at Chen Xiaofei.
"No, look, I don't have a fetish for other men's wives."
"I am Xu Wei, King of Biancheng of Qingming Pavilion."
"I know Qingming Pavilion, it's an assassin organization, but big brother, who are you? Stop framing innocent people." Chen Xiaofei gestured helplessly at Niu San. "You've got the guts to lay a hand on anyone's wife—you're the one who should be taking Baili Chengfeng as your master."
Xu Wei could no longer endure it. With a flick of his wrist, a tiger-head saber slid down from his sleeve. Gu Chenwan tried to step forward to stop him, but it was already too late. Xu Wei had already leaped into the air, unleashing a void-shattering slash directly at Chen Xiaofei.
Facing the crushing blow, Chen Xiaofei didn't even draw his blade. With a nimble sidestep, he used his opponent's momentum against him and delivered a flying kick that sent Xu Wei crashing backward.
Gu Chenwan hurried over to grab him, leaning close to Xu Wei's ear. "No! Chen Xiaofei is here. Even if the two of us combined don't lose, we won't be able to finish the mission. It's too dangerous. Let's leave first, swallow our pride, and wait for another chance."
Xu Wei was consumed by resentment, his face contorted as he violently shook off the hand trying to persuade him. Then he let out a low roar at Chen Xiaofei, and a surge of Qi Armor burst forth wildly.
"I've endured for six years! Do you have any idea how I've survived these past six years? Today I'm going to kill him, and not even the Emperor can save him. I said it."
"Six years?" Mentioning the time seemed to ring a bell for Chen Xiaofei; he had indeed clashed with people from Qingming Pavilion six years ago.
Xu Wei finished gathering his power. "I've spent the last six years bitterly practicing this single move, just to kill you."
Cyan-white Qi Armor swirled through the air, finally condensing into a ferocious white tiger that lunged straight at Chen Xiaofei in tandem with Xu Wei's movements.
A smile curved the corner of Chen Xiaofei's mouth as his gaze turned icy. Since this was an old enemy, there was no need to hold back. Dao Da leaped from its sheath upon command, and the instant the blade was drawn, a razor-sharp Qi Armor swept outward.
Draw the blade, sheath the blade, all in one fluid motion.
Under Chen Xiaofei's Qi Armor, the roaring white tiger was instantly obliterated. Xu Wei, along with his tiger-head saber, was sliced cleanly in two as the piercing Qi Armor tore across the firmament.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Gu Chenwan stepped forward with a ingratiating smile, meeting Chen Xiaofei's gaze. "This has nothing to do with me, Brother Chen. I'm not that close to him, but we did cross paths once. It wouldn't be overstepping for me to collect his remains, right?"
Chen Xiaofei admired people who valued loyalty above all else, and simply waved a hand.
"Look at you—six years ago you were already messing with other men's wives. No wonder the man hated you so much," Xia Yun said, finding Niu San increasingly repulsive. "And you still made Chen Xiaofei clean up your mess."
Niu San looked deeply wronged. "How old was I six years ago? My equipment wasn't even fully functional yet!"
Chen Xiaofei lowered his voice. "Let's go. Hurry up and leave this place."
Hearing that mysterious tone, Xia Yun grew tense as well, grabbing Niu San and hurrying away.
"Well, I'll be off first. Take your time wrapping things up here," Chen Xiaofei said, waving at the young man currently collecting the corpse.
Time to slip away. He glanced up at the tall building directly behind the alley; the rooftop pavilion and plaque were both gouged with deep saber marks.
Seeing that Chen Xiaofei had finally left, Gu Chenwan let out a long sigh of relief, looking down at the two halves of Xu Wei on the ground with a sigh. "I told you to follow my plan and nothing would have gone wrong. Every score could have been settled, but you just had to go charging in yourself."
"I'm embarrassed for you. You practiced bitterly for six years and couldn't even take a single move."
"Surround them!"
Just as Gu Chenwan was still muttering complaints, a procuress leading a general-lookalike and a squad of guards completely surrounded the area.
"Look, take a look, Lord Thousand Household!" The procuress pointed at the wreckage in the small alley and Gu Chenwan, who was cleaning it up. "Now it's plain as day. It's these martial artists fighting privately right here, bringing disaster to our Qin Pavilion. Just look at what's happened to our Qin Pavilion!"
What Qin Pavilion? What was she talking about?
Gu Chenwan raised his head in bewilderment, following the direction of the procuress's finger. Sure enough, he saw the massive saber gouge carved across the plaque of the tall building.
Then he lowered his gaze to the broken tiger-head saber lying on the ground.
Now he truly had grievances he couldn't voice.
"It is true that we imperial court folks aren't supposed to interfere in martial arts affairs, but you martial artists still need to abide by the rules. To openly commit murder within the city and destroy municipal property—based on these two charges alone, I am arresting you, and no one can say otherwise." The Thousand Household stepped forward, ready to give the order to arrest at any moment.
"Wait!"
Gu Chenwan called a halt. He would simply have to swallow this bitter pill.
That damned Zhang Sheng, Gu Chenwan cursed the Grand Secretary furiously in his mind.
"It was this humble person who didn't know better. I am willing to compensate for the repairs and offer a token of hard-earned money for you lords."
Hearing this, the Thousand Household's face broke into a smile.
"That's more like it. The pugilistic world is the pugilistic world, after all; bloodshed is only natural, isn't it?"