When Ye Qingyun mentioned the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan recognizing Guo Jing, the crowd burst into wave after wave of enthusiastic cheers.
And when they heard how Guo Jing bent his bow to shoot giant eagles and was bestowed the title of Prince Consort of the Golden Blade, they were even more thrilled and exhilarated.
Never before had the stories they listened to featured such utterly gratifying plots.
It was practically like stepping into an entirely new world.
Before anyone noticed, the entire teahouse was packed.
Even a large crowd gathered outside the teahouse, listening intently to the sounds coming from within, completely captivated.
"That young master, relying on his extraordinary martial arts, behaved dissolutely toward Mu Nianci. Muyi stepped forward to stop him, but was instead injured by that young master."
"Seeing this injustice from beneath the ring, Guo Jing felt a surge of righteous indignation that he could not calm. With a single stamp of his foot, he stepped onto the ring as light as a swallow."
Crack!
"If you wish to know what happens next, tune in to the next installment!"
At this point, Ye Qingyun stopped.
He simply couldn't speak another word.
Day was clearly turning to dusk.
Without realizing it, he had been talking here for the better part of the day.
His mouth was as dry as parchment.
Fortunately, the proprietor quickly offered tea and pastries, allowing Ye Qingyun to catch his breath.
"Storytelling is truly not a job for ordinary people," Ye Qingyun muttered to himself while drinking water.
The crowd still felt unsatisfied, yearning for more.
However, they did not press Ye Qingyun to continue storytelling.
Having listened to stories for an entire day, they could consider themselves quite fulfilled.
"Esteemed young master, will you still come tomorrow?"
"If you are coming, I'll come over at the crack of dawn to wait."
"You simply must come, otherwise I won't even know how to sleep tonight."
"I just want to know if that young master is a descendant of the Yang family!"
"If the descendants of the Guo and Yang families fight, who is actually stronger?"
...
Ye Qingyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
If I came every day, wouldn't I really become a storyteller?
I don't make my living off this.
It was just a momentary whim.
"Everyone, I will not be coming tomorrow."
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd was instantly deeply disappointed.
"However, I will tell the entire story of Legend of the Condor Heroes to Elder Huang. By then, Elder Huang will continue telling this story to everyone."
Hearing this, the crowd finally set their minds at ease.
As long as they could keep hearing the story, it didn't matter if someone else told it.
Old Man Huang was startled, then looked at Ye Qingyun with deep emotion.
He never expected that Ye Qingyun would be so generous as to impart the story of Legend of the Condor Heroes to him.
"Many thanks, Young Master!"
Old Man Huang bowed deeply.
"May I ask your esteemed name, Young Master?"
"My surname is Ye, and I'm called Ye Qingyun. I live right on Fuyun Mountain."
Ye Qingyun said.
"Young Master Ye, if you do not disdain this old man's advanced age, I would be willing to make a friendship that transcends generations with you."
"That is my honor as a junior."
Ye Qingyun woke up Damao and the rabbit, who had both fallen asleep, and led them out of the teahouse.
Just as they rounded a corner,
five people walked toward them from the opposite direction.
At the head was a young master with red lips and white teeth, possessing delicate features and holding a folding fan, looking rather dashing.
Behind him were four burly men, who appeared to be this young master's servants.
"Halt."
The young master blocked Ye Qingyun's path.
Ye Qingyun looked at the other party in confusion.
"Can I help you?"
The young master smiled and said, "I like your story very much. Come back with me; I want you to finish telling all the stories right away."
The tone carried a domineering quality, as if giving Ye Qingyun no room for refusal.
Ye Qingyun eyed this young master.
"My dear lady, I don't seem to know you. Forgive me, but I must decline your company."
The young master was startled.
"How on earth could you tell I was a woman disguised as a man?"
Ye Qingyun was speechless for a moment.
"My lady, if you want others not to notice, you should at least bind that chest of yours a bit tighter."
Chapter 18: Weak, Pitiful, and Helpless
The young master was stunned by Ye Qingyun's words.
Then she lowered her head and glanced at herself.
Oh dear!
She really had forgotten.
The young master disguised as a man instantly blushed slightly, though she didn't mind too much.
"Whether I am a man or a woman is beside the point."
"What matters is that I want to continue listening to the story you tell."
"As long as you tell it well and make me happy, I will reward you handsomely."
The way she said this made it sound like bestowing a supreme favor upon Ye Qingyun.
As if it would be quite improper for Ye Qingyun not to kneel down and kowtow in gratitude immediately.
Ye Qingyun wore a peculiar expression.
"Big sister, I am not a storyteller. If you want to listen to stories, go inside the teahouse and listen."
With that, Ye Qingyun picked up the rabbit, brought Damao along, and prepared to leave.
"Stop right there!"
The young master gave a cold shout.
The four servants immediately swarmed forward.
Ye Qingyun was surrounded on all sides, leaving him with nowhere to run.
All four servants wore ferocious expressions on their faces and purposely cracked their knuckles, seemingly to threaten Ye Qingyun.
They had already figured out that Ye Qingyun was merely a mortal, devoid of any fluctuation of cultivation within his body.
Such a person could be crushed to death with a flick of their fingers.
The rabbit held in Ye Qingyun's arms exchanged a glance with Damao on the ground.
Damao was also exchanging glances with the rabbit.
One rabbit and one dog.
As if they were communicating.
"Should we make a move?"
"Let's see how things play out."
"Very well."
The rabbit remained docile, while Damao maintained its lazy appearance.
On the contrary, their master, Ye Qingyun, was scared out of his wits by this formation, his expression changing drastically.
Didn't they say people in this world are very kind?
How did I run into bullies just like this?
"You guys shouldn't act rashly; I actually have a powerful backing."
Ye Qingyun said with a straight face.
The young master smiled faintly.
"Do you know who I am?"
Ye Qingyun shook his head.
"It doesn't matter if you don't know. Come back with me; I merely want to hear you tell stories and will not do you any harm."
"Take him away."
With that, the young master waved a hand.
"Let's go."
All four servants glared at Ye Qingyun.
Ye Qingyun had no choice.
Since he was weak and lacked support, it was better not to resist.
And so,
Ye Qingyun followed them forward.
Before long, Ye Qingyun spotted an extremely luxurious carriage.
Sitting on the carriage was also a middle-aged man who appeared to be the coachman.
"Young Master, you've returned."
Upon seeing the young master, the middle-aged man immediately bowed and saluted.
"Mhm, I brought back a storyteller, just in time to let him dispel my boredom along the way."
The young master immediately boarded the carriage.
The middle-aged man glanced at Ye Qingyun and, seeing that Ye Qingyun possessed no cultivation whatsoever, paid him no further mind.
"Get up there."
The four servants pushed Ye Qingyun onto the carriage.
"My dog!"
Ye Qingyun hurriedly said.
"You can forget about this dog."
One of the servants laughed heartily.
"No way! If you want me to come along, you must bring my dog!"
This time, Ye Qingyun was extremely resolute and refused to yield at all.
"Let the dog get on the carriage as well."
The young master's voice came from inside the carriage.
Only then did Damao get on the carriage too.
However, it could only lie down on the outside of the carriage, staying together with the middle-aged coachman.
Ye Qingyun entered the carriage.
The young master was sitting inside, leisurely eating grapes.
"You call yourself a grown man, so why are you holding a rabbit?"
The young master glanced at the rabbit in Ye Qingyun's arms and couldn't help smiling.
The rabbit cursed inwardly.
"If Lord Rabbit didn't like to keep a low profile, I'd have flattened all of you with a single slap."
"You call yourself a young lady, so why do you like wearing men's clothes and gallivanting outside?"
Ye Qingyun said casually.
Hearing this, the young master looked at Ye Qingyun with some surprise.
She hadn't expected this seemingly frail young man to be quite sharp with his words.
"Young Master, we are about to set off."
The middle-aged coachman's voice came from outside the carriage.
"Let's go."
The young master replied.
The carriage began to move.
Ye Qingyun wore a puzzled expression.
"Where on earth are you taking me?"
"You don't need to know."
"......"
Ye Qingyun thought to himself.
You've forcibly dragged me aboard, yet you won't even tell me where we're going?
What if you sell me off somewhere?
"You aren't bandits, are you?"
Ye Qingyun asked probingly.
The young master let out a chuckle.
"If I were a bandit, you'd have lost your life long ago."
She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and rinsed it by taking a sip of tea.
"Alright, continue telling the story of Legend of the Condor Heroes."
Ye Qingyun shook his head.
"If you don't tell me where we're going, I won't tell the story."
The young master's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You dare try to bargain with me?"
Ye Qingyun put on an appearance of rather dying than submitting to humiliation.
"Fine, I can tell you."
"But once I tell you, I'm afraid I won't be able to spare your life."
With that, a dangerous glint surfaced on the young master's face.
"Then you'd better not say it."
Ye Qingyun hastily waved his hand.
At this moment, Ye Qingyun was truly weak, pitiful, and helpless.
"Hehe, knowing what's good for you is wise."
Ye Qingyun began to continue telling the story of Legend of the Condor Heroes.
The young master listened with rapt attention.
The carriage swayed as it rolled along, soon leaving the marketplace behind.
Ye Qingyun glanced out the carriage window and discovered they seemed to be heading east.
Fuyun Mountain happened to be on the west side of the marketplace.
Consequently, this meant he was getting further and further away from his home base.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have gone down the mountain to wander around. What on earth am I supposed to do now?"
Ye Qingyun inwardly bewailed his bad luck.
Soon, Ye Qingyun reached the episode where Guo Jing and Huang Rong fortuitously met Hong Qigong, and Hong Qigong imparted the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms to Guo Jing.
The young master seemed exceptionally interested in this part of the story, sitting up straight and staring at Ye Qingyun without blinking an eye.
She was the picture of concentration.
"How is this Guo Jing so foolish, yet so lucky to receive teachings from a reclusive expert?"
The young master couldn't help interjecting.
Ye Qingyun paused slightly.
He smiled faintly and said, "Though Guo Jing is dull-witted, he possesses a pure heart, treats others with sincerity, and holds a deep sense of chivalry. Hong Qigong has a discerning eye for talent, so the two coming together was only natural."
The young master nodded.
"What you said makes sense."
This led her to associate it with herself.
"I wonder if this journey to seek a master will be as smooth as Guo Jing's journey in this story?"
Before long, the night had grown deep.
The young master, however, remained full of spirit.
Yet Ye Qingyun couldn't take it anymore.
He wasn't a cultivator; he needed to go to bed early and rise early every day.
Being forced to stay up late like this left him feeling rather dizzy.
"Big sister, can you please let me go?"
Ye Qingyun pleaded.
"No. Besides, do I look very old? Why must you call me big sister?"
The young master said with some displeasure.
Ye Qingyun wore a bitter expression.
"Then please let me rest for a while. I am too tired."
Seeing that Ye Qingyun looked thoroughly drowsy, the young master did not press him further.
"Very well, I'll allow you to sleep for a bit. But behave yourself and don't move around recklessly, or I'll hack off your hands and feet."
Ye Qingyun hurriedly leaned against the side and closed his eyes.
While resting, he racked his brains trying to figure out how to make his escape.
Outside the carriage, however, the middle-aged coachman's expression suddenly shifted.
"Eldest Miss, it seems we've encountered a Demon Beast!"
Chapter 19: Demon Beast Attack
"What?"
Hearing this, the young master's expression changed as well.
The carriage came to a halt.
The four servants tightly guarded the four sides of the carriage.
Their faces all carried tense expressions as their vigilant gazes swept the surroundings.
At this moment, the carriage was traveling along a quiet, ancient path.
Low trees surrounded them on all sides.
Aside from the sound of the night wind blowing, there were no other movements.
Yet the middle-aged coachman could distinctly perceive a dense demonic aura concealed all around them.
Moreover, its cultivation was definitely not weak.
Demon Beasts were not uncommon in the Tianwu Dynasty, because the Tianwu Dynasty bordered the Ten Thousand Demons Nation.
And the Ten Thousand Demons Nation was a paradise for the demon race.
Although the Tianwu Dynasty had cleared out the Demon Beasts within its borders several times, it had never been entirely effective.
The probability of encountering Demon Beasts out in the wilderness was still quite high.
Yet everyone in their party, apart from Ye Qingyun, consisted of cultivators, and yet Demon Beasts still dared to approach.
This indicated that the strength of the Demon Beasts lurking in the dark was by no means weak.
Ye Qingyun also opened his eyes; there was simply no way for him to continue sleeping.
He looked at the young master, who had already drawn a sword into her hand, her lovely eyes scanning the outside of the window.
"What kind of mess is this?"
Ye Qingyun inwardly bewailed his wretched fate.
He really had fallen upon bad luck.
Why did all sorts of things always happen to him?
He hoped a fight wouldn't break out shortly.
And even if a fight did break out, he hoped it wouldn't implicate him.
The middle-aged coachman took a deep breath.
"We are people from the Beichuan Xiao Family. We kindly ask you to grant us passage and not make things difficult for us."
This was revealing their background in hopes of using it to deter the hidden Demon Beasts.
"The Beichuan Xiao Family?"
Ye Qingyun muttered to himself.
He had never heard of them.
However, if anyone else had been present, they would have been utterly shocked by this name.
Beichuan was not within the borders of the Tianwu Dynasty, but rather located in the far more distant north beyond the Tianwu Dynasty's borders.
There, nations like the Tianwu Dynasty did not exist.
There were only countless martial arts clans and various sects of all sizes.
It could be said that Beichuan was a chaotic place.
And this so-called Xiao Family was a top-tier major clan whose influence ranked among the best in the land of Beichuan.
If placed in the Tianwu Dynasty, they would also be an existence comparable to the three major sects.
At a desolate mound not far from the carriage,
a pitch-black bear demon was devouring a tragically slain wild boar.
Beside the bear demon was also a wolf demon.
"The Beichuan Xiao Family? Why have people from the Xiao Family run into the borders of the Tianwu Dynasty?"
The wolf demon chewed on the wild boar's head, muttering to itself.
The bear demon curled its lip, "Who cares? Anyway, since they've entered our brothers' territory, they ought to leave their lives behind."
"Well said. No matter how powerful the Beichuan Xiao Family is, they wouldn't dare run over here to act presumptuously."
The wolf demon chuckled sinisterly.
The two Demon Beasts stood up and each released their auras.
Immediately, the people over by the carriage became even more nervous.
"At least Condensed Dan Realm Demon Beasts!"
"And there's more than one!"
The middle-aged coachman's expression changed drastically.
He was a Condensed Dan Realm martial artist, but only at the Early Core Condensation Realm.
Yet these two strands of demonic aura coming from all directions reached at least the Condensed Dan Realm Mid Stage.
If there were only one Demon Beast,
he could still manage to handle it.
But now that there were two, he was helpless as well.
He could only place his hopes on these two Demon Beasts being intimidated by the reputation of the Beichuan Xiao Family.
Damao lay beside the middle-aged coachman, letting out a bored yawn.
Inside the carriage, the rabbit in Ye Qingyun's arms also twitched its ears twice.
"Dog Brother, it seems there are two blind Demon Beasts nearby."
"I know."
"Should we make a move?"
"No need."
"Why's that?"
"I hate the trouble."
"Then what if those two fellows come over?"
"They won't."
"Why?"
"Because they want to stay alive."
"......"
The bear demon and the wolf demon were gradually drawing closer.
Just at that moment, however,
the wolf demon abruptly stopped in its tracks.
"How come I seem to smell the demonic aura of another Demon Beast?"
The wolf demon twitched its nose, its expression instantly turning somewhat startled and uncertain.
The bear demon sniffed the air as well.
"Where? Did you get it wrong?"
The wolf demon sniffed again and found that the scent had vanished.
"Maybe I'm just too sensitive."
Without further hesitation, the two Demon Beasts charged straight toward the front of the carriage.
"Protect the Eldest Miss!"
The middle-aged coachman shouted, leaping off the carriage first to face the two Demon Beasts head-on.
The other four servants tightly shielded the carriage behind them.
Judging from the looks of the four of them, however, they were clearly already terrified to the extreme.
Ye Qingyun lifted the carriage curtain and caught sight of the two Demon Beasts as well.
"We're done for, we're really going to die here this time."
Ye Qingyun wore a depressed expression.
The young master's face also turned as pale as a sheet.
"Hurry up and run."
She said to Ye Qingyun.
Ye Qingyun was startled, then grew angry.
"Are you trying to make me get down there to attract their attention?"
The young master: "......"
I was clearly doing it out of kindness to let you escape, so how did it turn into making you attract their attention?
"You two, we belong to the Beichuan Xiao Family..."
Before the middle-aged coachman could finish speaking, the bear demon had already lunged forward.
Helpless, the middle-aged coachman had no choice but to strike.
Bang!!!
As soon as they clashed, the middle-aged coachman was forced back step after step.
The bear demon grinned hideously.
"You've got a bit of skill."
The wolf demon stepped forward.
"Let me handle this."
Swish!
The wolf demon attacked with extreme speed, its sharp claws carrying a piercing whistle that swept horizontally and vertically.
The middle-aged coachman let out a roar, thrusting both palms forward as spiritual energy surged.
The wolf claws were blocked.
Yet upon the middle-aged coachman's palms, several bloody gashes had appeared.
"Attack together, don't waste time."
The bear demon roared loudly.
The two Demon Beasts prepared to charge forward simultaneously.
A tragic and heroic look appeared on the middle-aged coachman's face.
"Eldest Miss, I'll take my leave first!"
Disregarding everything, he dashed straight toward the wolf demon and the bear demon,
intending to use his life to stall these two Demon Beasts and buy an opportunity for his young mistress to escape.
At the same time, Damao on the carriage had already straightened its body and looked toward the two Demon Beasts.
In that instant,
both the bear demon and the wolf demon felt an unimaginable pressure bearing down upon them.
It was as if a demon emperor had descended.
In a split second, the bodies of both Demon Beasts stiffened, unable to move at all.