With these words, Chen Xiaofei kicked off with his right foot, leaped onto the high wall beside the tournament arena, and vanished in a single bound.
Watching Chen Xiaofei's departing figure, the entire crowd erupted in an uproar.
"Wait for me! You forgot about me! You were going to take me to apprentice!" Seeing Chen Xiaofei just walk away like that, Xia Yun was on the verge of crying with anxiety and hurried off in pursuit.
"So dashing! Many thanks to Brother Fēi for imparting your teachings." Niu San bowed to the empty air, the more he thought about it, the more excited he became. "In three years, I'll be invincible! Hehehe."
"What did he say his name was?"
Someone below the stage suddenly shouted.
"Chen Xiaofei?" another person replied uncertainly.
"Could it be that guy from six years ago?"
"He's returned to the pugilistic world?"
"This is big news!"
"What happened six years ago?"
The crowd buzzed with animated discussion.
"I know!"
A swordsman leaped onto the tournament arena.
"Six years ago, Chen Xiaofei swept through the martial arts world, culminating in an ultimate duel at the peak against Baili Chengfeng. Guess what happened in the end?"
The swordsman asked, full of confidence.
"What happened?"
"Spit it out, you damn bastard!"
"Don't make me come up there and beat you to your knees!"
"Fuck off! Don't you dare badmouth my Brother Fēi behind his back!" Niu San stepped forward and kicked the swordsman right off the stage.
***
Inside a restaurant, Chen Xiaofei had already ordered fine wine and good food.
*Did that Niu San just claim to be my grandfather back there?*
Taking a sip of wine, Chen Xiaofei finally processed what had happened.
"Well, well, Chen Xiaofei, running away so fast! You nearly ran me to death."
Seeing the panting Xiaofei—no, panting Xia Yun—Chen Xiaofei was startled. "Whoa, big sister, how on earth did you manage to track me down when I ran so fast?"
Xia Yun sat down beside Chen Xiaofei looking very pleased with herself. "We've spent all these days together; no matter where you run, I can always find you."
"No way, did you plant a Gu worm in me?" Terrified, Chen Xiaofei immediately started checking his body.
"Hmph, go ahead and look all you want." Watching the endless stream of delicacies being served, Xia Yun couldn't help letting her saliva water uncontrollably.
"I didn't find anything. You were just trying to scare me, weren't you?"
Chen Xiaofei relaxed.
"Anyway, are you really that Chen Xiaofei from six years ago?" Xia Yun asked, looking skeptical. "How come my master didn't beat you to death?"
"Hey, hey, hey! It's true I couldn't beat Baili Chengfeng, sure, but it's not like he could've beaten me to death, right?" Chen Xiaofei grew anxious and argued frantically.
"That doesn't add up. When Chen Xiaofei raided my clan back then, I saw him too. He didn't look like you, and he didn't carry two sabers either." Xia Yun remained unconvinced.
"It's been six years! I've grown up, and I've gotten better-looking. Is that a crime?" Chen Xiaofei snapped impatiently.
"What about the sabers?"
Chen Xiaofei finally turned serious. "Back then, one saber wasn't enough to beat him, but now I have two! How could I possibly lose to him with two?"
"Oh, so you were beaten scared by my master, is that it?" Xia Yun mocked, shaking her head.
"First of all, you haven't even become an apprentice yet, so there's no need to stick up for that guy so much," Chen Xiaofei said viciously. "Secondly, I only lost by a single move back then, which is why I practice double sabers now. He only has one sword, so before we even fight, I'm already up by one move."
With that, Chen Xiaofei brightened up.
"So you were still scared shitless by his beating."
Chen Xiaofei grew frantic again. "And another thing! If you mock me one more time, you won't get to eat a single bite of what I bought. You can just eat your medicinal pills every single day!"
"Are you flustered?" Xia Yun asked calmly.
"No!"
"Are you flustered?"
"No!"
"You—"
"Fine, I'm flustered."
Xia Yun nodded in satisfaction and continued gnawing on her chicken leg.
"Wait, didn't you say you hated Chen Xiaofei? Why did you chase after me anyway?" Chen Xiaofei finally voiced the question that had been on his mind—which was why he hadn't brought Xia Yun along after revealing his identity.
"I don't hate you. I just figured saying that would make it easier to become his apprentice," Xia Yun answered with a beaming smile.
"You didn't specially come back to my side just to poison me whenever you feel like it, did you?" Chen Xiaofei felt a chill run down his spine.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently.
"What's going on? An earthquake?" Chen Xiaofei turned his head to look out the door.
They saw a tall figure with a shiny, bald head and a huge axe slung over his shoulder go bounding past.
"Isn't that Niu San?" someone in the restaurant recognized him and exclaimed in shock.
"No way, he was serious?! He's actually doing frog jumps!" Chen Xiaofei burst into hearty laughter.
"Why are you laughing so happily?" Xia Yun asked, puzzled.
"You know, his dad is Niu Wanbao, yet he actually named his son Niu San." Chen Xiaofei laughed until tears came out.
"Niu Wanbao is the imperial court's only non-royal prince, a pillar of the state, and the grand commander of the three hundred thousand iron cavalry in the Northwest," Xia Yun recited flatly, providing the background.
Chen Xiaofei's smile instantly froze.
"Wait, he was serious?! He's actually doing frog jumps!" Chen Xiaofei wailed as he chased after him.
***
"Chen Xiaofei has made a comeback. Spread the word." After the Martial Arts Tournament concluded, Gu Chenwan and the man in the bamboo hat returned to their reserved inn room and began discussing.
"Is this Chen Xiaofei really that formidable?" Gu Chenwan asked, somewhat doubtful.
"You hadn't arrived six years ago, so you don't know. Back then, Chen Xiaofei challenged major sects all along his path, basking in unmatched glory. There were always those who found him an eyesore, so they came to us. I have never witnessed such a razor-sharp blade aura; that single slash almost tore me in two. If the Pavilion Master hadn't intervened to save me, King of Biancheng Xu Wei would have long since ceased to exist in this world."
Xu Wei slowly removed the bamboo hat he was wearing, revealing the startling scar across his face. Starting from the outer corner of his right eyebrow all the way down to his left jaw, the gash practically split his entire face in two.
Even though Gu Chenwan had killed countless people herself, seeing such a horrifying scar on a human face still caused her to look away.
"We did our research on Chen Xiaofei back then and took him quite seriously. Half of the eight Helmsmen were dispatched at once, yet in a single night, two fell and one fled. If I hadn't been lucky enough to survive, it truly would have been a disgrace to Qingming."
"It's still a disgrace now," Gu Chenwan chuckled. "How truly embarrassing."
Xu Wei ignored Gu Chenwan's remark. "He vanished without a trace after his duel with Baili Chengfeng. We originally thought that even if he wasn't dead, he was probably crippled, and we searched for him for a long time with no results. I never expected to see him again today."
Gu Chenwan produced her divining wheel from somewhere and began spinning it. "The past is the past, and the present is the present. The face you all lost, I will pick it back up for you."
Seeing Xu Wei put his bamboo hat back on, Gu Chenwan suddenly remembered something. "Did you kill that Helmsman who ran away?"
"No."
"Hm?"
"He fled into Lingshan, and Lingshan Temple took him in."
Gu Chenwan reacted as if she had heard the most ridiculous joke imaginable. "Those bald donkeys actually dare to take in someone from our Qingming Pavilion? Aren't they afraid the karmic burdens on us will burn down their Buddha statues?"
"Aiyaya, how utterly disgraceful! How utterly disgraceful! If I had known ahead of time that you lot were all this useless, I wouldn't have bothered taking this Helmsman position either. Whatever, since I've already decided to join, I'll scoop up this lost face along with you. What's his name?"
To Gu Chenwan's sarcasm, Xu Wei turned a blind eye. "Blood Sword King—Li Qingshan."