Volcanic Age

Zhou Xuchuan decided to keep the Prajna Divine Art a secret for the time being, and his master didn't press any further, seemingly stunned by the revelation of the Lesser Circulation PIlls.

I guess it'll be fine for a few years?

Zhou Xuchuan had buried the Prajna Divine Art manual in the mountain he was staying on back in the Hubei Province. He made sure that nearby animals wouldn't try to dig it out. He also memorized the sutra just in case, so that he could make the Shaolin Temple owe him a debt and get them to help him in the future.

The master and disciple met with five other members of the Mount Hua Sect, who had departed shortly after Liu Zhengmu. Zhou Xuchuan didn't know any of them.

"Sorry to make you wait."

"Not at all, senior brother."

Liu Zhengmu held the highest rank among them.

"I have sent a homing pigeon from Wuhan, but reporting is still important. Report to the sect that we're setting off."

"Yes, senior brother."

*

Yunxian, Hubei Province.

Yunxian was a small fishing village in the northwestern end of the province. Although it wasn't by the seaside, it had a rather large river. Their main produce was fish from the river, and the village itself was quite large.

"Good work coming all the way here. We've been running for a while now, so let's take a break for about three days," said Liu Zhengmu, putting down his luggage.

"Yes, senior brother," the sect members replied, brightening up. Although no one said anything, they were all exhausted and in need of a break.

The group settled down in a suitable inn and unpacked their luggage before having a meal.

"I'll go up and rest." Liu Zhengmu entered his room after the meal.

As soon as LIu Zhengmu went up, the others gathered around Zhou Xuchuan, seizing the opportunity to ask questions. Zhou Xuchuan was slightly caught off guard by their eagerness.

"Phew, now we can finally ask without holding back."

"Hey, Junior Brother Zhou. If it's okay, can you tell me about what happened with the Nine Water Gangs?"

The martial world may not have had an interest in Zhou Xuchuan as a whole, but he was pretty famous within Mount Hua and many people were interested in him. This was a result of his feats when fighting the Watertop Spearman.

"Ah, yeah. I was wondering what you were going to ask… that's okay." Zhou Xuchuan nodded with a bitter expression.

"No, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. We don't want to make you remember any bad memories."

"Right."

They seemed to be considerate of him.

Like hell they are.

But their eyes said otherwise. They were filled with curiosity and were urging him to speak.

So they were keeping quiet because of Master.

Despite the combined efforts of Mount Hua Sect and the Zhuge Family, there had been no trace of them. Although they were reported as missing, everyone was certain they were dead.

Liu Zhengmu had lost his only disciple, who was only twelve years old. Normally, that would be enough to drive him crazy. Although he had returned unharmed, they couldn't simply ask him what happened out of curiosity. It could have been a traumatic experience for the child, and a master would not want to make him remember it.

It wasn't that these people didn't know this, and they were acting rather considerate. However, curiosity got the better of them.

"No, it's okay."

"Oooh!"

When Zhou Xuchuan looked fine, the others visibly rejoiced. They were quite the simpletons.

"Lady, we don't care what it is; just bring us some wine and snacks!"

Daoist sects, whether it was the Mount Hua Sect or the Wudang Sect, didn't forbid drinking. However, they were told to refrain from drinking too much. They usually didn't drink within the sect because of the atmosphere and because they were afraid they would make a mistake. As such, they usually drank when they were out in the world like this.

"So it goes like this…"

Zhou Xuchuan combed through his memories and started telling them about what happened when he boarded the boat.

"Hm, I see. It's just as we heard."

The disciples were focused on Zhou Xuchuan's story. They weren't completely clueless about what happened. As the matter caused big waves in the sect, it was well known.

"But it sure is different listening to it in person."

"Awesome!"

They continued to drink.

"But, junior brother. From what I've heard, you exchanged blows with the Watertop Spearman. Is that true?"

Clashing with one of the Hundred Experts Under Heaven was hard to believe. However, there were many witnesses.

"Back then, the Watertop Spearman had been exhausted from Senior Uncle Qiu Feng's attacks, and couldn't fight at full strength. He was busy blocking the Fourteen Forms of the Plum Blossom, so at best, the attacks I got in were random swings. All I did was to evade or deflect them."

Although it seemed too late, Zhou Xuchuan wanted to be undervalued as much as possible. He was wary of the Dark Heavens Association.

"I knew it."

"Right. It just doesn't make sense if you think about it."

Although the opponent was a bandit, he was still one of the Hundred Experts Under Heaven. Someone who could reach such a high position was definitely not an ordinary person. Unless such an expert held back, exchanging a few moves was nearly impossible.

"Senior Uncle Qiu Feng said he won thanks to you. What does that mean?"

"Obviously, that's because I distracted the enemy from nearby. The outcome of a battle between high-level experts can be decided in a split second, right?"

Zhou Xuchuan was glib-tongued. He lied without batting an eyelid.

"But I heard that you dealt with numerous bandits on the deck of the boat in the blink of an eye."

"I know that bandits have terrible cultivation, but that's still amazing."

The other disciples seemed to accept Zhou Xuchuan's explanation. In truth, they had already heard the story from Qiu Feng, Zhang Hong, and Zhang Xuen, but it was hard to believe their words. That was why they were doubtful, and now that they heard the story from the person in question, their doubts had been cleared.

"That means you're stronger than Zhang Hong or Zhang Xuen, doesn't it?"

"Honestly, I looked down on you for being a lucky guy, but let me apologize for that right now."

"With your master here, I can't offer much, but I'll pour you a cup at least, Mr. Future Plum Blossom Swordsman."

Although he hid as much of his feats as possible, he wasn't seen as the All Bite No Bark anymore.

Considering Zhou Xuchuan's age, his feats during the battle against the Watertop Spearman were undeniably impressive.

"I'll gratefully accept your—"

Bang!

Before he could receive a full cup, the inn door swung open with a bang. Everyone turned towards the sound.

"S-someone, please help me!" A woman stumbled in, her clothes ragged and dirty.

"What is it?" the inn owner asked.

"I… I was doing laundry by the river, but some cultivators showed up and started wreaking havoc!"

"Cultivators?" Zhou Xuchuan reacted first.

"Are they crazy?"

Yi Zhihao, a third-generation member of Mount Hua, looked flabbergasted. The public security in Hubei was considerably high. This was due to the presence of the Wudang Sect, also known as the Hegemon of the South, as well as the Zhuge Family, the brains of the Orthodox Faction. Even if Yunxian was situated near the border, it was still under their influence.

Most bandits or Evil Faction members steered clear of Hubei or hid if forced to come.

"Did you perhaps spy on them during their training? It is not weird that they got angry if you did."

Yi Zhihao wondered if it was just a misunderstanding.

"No!" The woman pounded her chest in frustration.

"Someone's causing trouble in Yunxian, no, in Hubei?" The other guests raised their voices. They also seemed confused.

"I don't know who they are, but aren't they crazy?"

Yunxian was considerably close to the Wudang Mountains and had good public security. Cultivators causing trouble her was practically unheard of. Even if they did, the problem was the aftermath. Regardless of where they were from, causing trouble in Wudang Sect's territory would be a serious offense.

Just then, someone came down from the stairs.

"Calm down and tell us what happened." It was Liu Zhengmu. "As a disciple of Mount Hua, I cannot stand by after seeing injustice. Please explain."

Liu Zhengmu glanced at the woman.

"Uhm, the thing is…"

Apparently, the woman went to do laundry by the river with the other ladies of the village, just like usual. However, shortly after, some strange men showed up and started harassing them. Feeling anxious, the women tried to run away with their laundry, but those cultivators blocked them and wouldn't leave them alone.

"How many of them are there?"

"I-I'm not sure. I think there are about twenty, but… that's not important. There's no time!" the woman shouted, stomping on the ground.

"Understood. We'll check it out. Can you lead the way?"

"Yes, follow me!" The woman hurried out.

"Senior brother." Yi Zhihao's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Yes, it seems to be a trap." Liu Zhengmu smiled bitterly.

The situation was way too suspicious.

"Her eyes darted around like a scared fish, and she wouldn't make eye contact. More importantly, if they were truly cultivators, there's no way they would have missed an ordinary woman, even if they were Third Class."

Yi Zhihao was convinced.

"On top of that, she is willing to lead us straight to them without hesitation. That is suspicious."

"Are you going to follow her?"

"As I said before, I cannot stand by after seeing injustice. It's possible she's being threatened."

"Yes, sir." Yi Zhihao stood up, and the others followed suit. They had long since burned away any lingering with their qi.

*

At first, they followed the woman, but she fell down midway, so one of them carried her while she pointed out the directions.

"We seem to have passed the river a while ago."

"U-uhm, the nearby river is dirty today because an animal carcass floated down. So…"

Her lie was rather obvious.

"Okay."

But no one pointed it out. Everyone was aware that following her was a trap.

They were led to an empty mountain far from the village. There wasn't even a single herb gatherer in sight.

"Hahaha!"

When they reached a flat clearing, they heard laughter from the bushes. The voice was rather unpleasant.

"Hm, that's them, huh."

The group drew their swords without hesitation.

"We were getting bored waiting for you."

A group of around twenty vicious-looking men came out of the bushes. Among them was a young boy of around six or seven who was clearly out of place. He was also tied with a rope.

"My baby!" the woman screamed, on the verge of tears.

"I see, that's how it is."

The smile vanished from Liu Zhengmu's face, replaced by cold fury.

"I understand the situation now. Please hide behind us."

"Sob… I'm so sorry. I had no choice…"

The woman couldn't hold back and started sobbing. They didn't come after me after realizing what I did, right?

Zhou Xuchuan felt anxious.

"Gentle Smiling Swordsman, Liu Zhengmu!"

His unease didn't last long.

"I have personally come to Hubei to meet you!"

It's not me, but Master?

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