Chapter 1 Aftermath

After dealing with the unexpected skirmish, the five did not continue toward the town center. Instead, they turned into a side street. After walking for a while, they casually pushed open the door of a random house and entered.

Cangling Town wasn't particularly large, but it was still a "town," not some tiny village. Otherwise, the earlier fight would have already drawn a crowd. After the town was abandoned for many years, there were many empty houses and huts, with nothing of value inside. If one could tolerate the snakes, insects, rats, and ants, it was a decent place to seek shelter.

According to the information Meng Jiu had provided, apart from the leaders and disciples of the major sects staying in the town's inn, other martial arts vagrants or members of second- or third-rate sects could only make do by finding such dwellings near the inn. Of course, Meng Jiu and his Beggars' Sect elders never considered such problems; they were used to sleeping on the streets.

As players, Feng Bujue and his team didn't need to worry about basic physiological needs like eating, drinking, or sleeping in the script. They only needed to pay attention to their stamina and concentration.

It was about an hour before dawn. Feng Bujue's plan was for everyone to hide for another two or three hours and then go to the town's inn around seven in the morning. They would use this time to naturally recover their survival points and stamina. He would also explain the situation and countermeasures for after dawn.

Since this script had a high degree of freedom, with no restrictions on time, map, or tasks, there was no need to worry about being penalized by the system for passive gameplay. Everyone could rest assured and recuperate.

Of course, Feng Bujue was very efficient. He finished conveying everything he wanted to say in half an hour. The next two-plus hours turned into a game of word association and Xiao Tan being pelted with snacks by Bei Ling…

While the players were hiding in the dark passing the time, Shi Yanran and the square-faced man were not idle. Before long, the two met up and began discussing the details of their frame-up. They did indeed know each other. Shi Yanran had recognized the man at a glance earlier as Gongsun Li, the second-in-command of Wanxia Manor.

Although this Gongsun Li also had the surname Gongsun, he had no blood relation to Gongsun Qian. The two were only coincidentally of the same surname. Gongsun Qian had joined the sect ten years earlier than Gongsun Li, and was also ten years older. The martial brothers had addressed each other as brothers since they were young. Moreover, both were very talented in martial arts, outstanding among their peers. So, decades later, they became the top two figures in Wanxia Manor.

In Wanxia Manor, when it came to martial arts, Gongsun Qian was undoubtedly the best, but Gongsun Li's scheming was far beyond that of his senior martial brother. Take Shi Yanran and Wang Ao's affair for example. Gongsun Qian was kept in the dark, but Gongsun Li knew very well. His strength lay in the fact that he knew, but didn't say… and he could even pretend he didn't know at all.

He neither blackmailed anyone with it nor interfered with the development of the situation. Gongsun Li's principle was simple: "Secretly prepare." So, he was always prepared for sudden situations. It was this style of acting like guarding against thieves that allowed him to turn the tide at such a critical moment today.

Gongsun Li was helping Shi Yanran this time not because he had a good relationship with her or had any designs on her. He was purely acting to save Wanxia Manor's reputation. He was also well aware that if the murder was exposed, the adultery would definitely follow. If it happened somewhere else, it wouldn't be a big deal, but it happened here. Now, Cangling Town was even more lively than a martial arts tournament. If Wanxia Manor's scandal was exposed at this time and place… then they would be pointed at wherever they went, with people saying, "The manor lord's wife is having an affair with a disciple." How would Wanxia Manor's disciples walk the martial world in the future?

In ordinary times, righteous gentlemen and chivalrous individuals might help the right side rather than their relatives, but there weren't many who could do that at this moment. As things stood, Gongsun Li wouldn't talk about truth or justice. It was better to put the blame on those outsiders. Anyway, Feng Bujue and his group all looked to be in their twenties and none were familiar faces. Even if they had some skill, they were just beginners in the martial world. With his status as Wanxia Manor's second-in-command and Shi Yanran's status as the manor lord's wife, wouldn't framing the five with the murder of Wang Ao be a piece of cake?

That night, Gongsun Li and Shi Yanran finished discussing their story and immediately went to find Gongsun Qian. They said they had accidentally discovered Wang Ao sneaking out at night, which they found strange, so they secretly followed him. After a while, they found Wang Ao had died tragically in the street, and five strangely skilled strangers were standing beside his body. After exchanging blows, they realized the opponents were truly powerful. Being only two against five, they feared they would be defeated, so they had to escape and report back.

Although Gongsun Qian felt a few flaws in their story, he didn't think much about it in his anxiety. He immediately took more than a dozen disciples out of the inn, followed Shi Yanran and Gongsun Li's directions to the scene, and indeed found Wang Ao's broken body lying in the street. Judging from the number of footprints at the scene and the scattered throwing darts, there had indeed been a multi-person fight.

However, in the current situation, they didn't know where to find the five people, so they had no choice but to collect the body and return to the inn to discuss the matter further.

This group made a big commotion coming and going from the inn, which naturally caught the attention of many people. Before dawn, the news spread that Wang Ao of Wanxia Manor had been killed, and the killers seemed to be five mysterious masters unheard of in the martial world.

…………

The next morning, Cangling Inn.

The cooks and waiters in the inn were busy before dawn. By now, baskets of snow-white steamed buns and pots of fragrant tea were ready, waiting to be served to the guests.

No one, not even the inn's staff, knew exactly when the Cangling Town inn had reopened. Anyway, by mid-July, when people heard about the duel between Xie San and Ye Cheng and came to town, the inn was already open for business.

Whenever those martial artists inquired about the inn's history from the staff, they were met with ignorance. Because the inn's staff didn't know martial arts or anything about the martial world, they were all ordinary people from nearby counties. Someone had given them a considerable sum of money and told them that they only needed to work here for a month. After August 15th, the inn would close, the money would be settled, and everyone would go their own way.

As for the innkeeper… he didn't appear often. He was a man in his forties, with a feminine appearance and an extremely pale face twenty-four hours a day. He looked like a ghost even during the day, and he couldn't be seen at night. Some people might even believe he was a vengeful spirit from the town.

Having talked about the inn's owner, let's talk about the guests…

In this script's martial arts world, the most powerful forces were the "One Manor, Two Manors, Three Sects, and Four Clans," totaling ten sects.

The One Manor was Ye Manor of Xi'an; the Two Manors were Wanxia Manor and Bafang Manor; the Three Sects were Shaolin, Renwu, and Xiaoyao; and the Four Clans were Wuji Clan of Kaifeng, Vajra Clan of the Western Regions, Justice Clan of Luoyang, and Tang Clan of Sichuan.

Among these sects, Ye Manor was the most respected in the martial world, like a deep pool or a towering mountain. Its top masters were recognized as the strongest in the martial world. Besides Ye Cheng, known as the Sword God, the "Six Flower Shadow Swords" of the manor were also top-notch masters at the sect leader level. Lu Qingning, the Fallen Plum Sword mentioned earlier, was one of these six masters. Of course, she also disappeared last night…

And the Two Manors, Wanxia Manor and Bafang Manor, were both rising in prominence. Each sect had a peerless secret manual passed down through generations, namely the Wanxia Divine Skill and the Bafang Supreme Mind Method. Their manor lords were also masters second only to Ye Cheng. Looking at the martial world, even if their skill wasn't in the top ten, it wouldn't be outside the top twenty. Therefore, both sects had many disciples, and the quality of the masters in the manors was also good.

Then there were the Three Sects, Shaolin Sect, Renwu Sect, and Xiaoyao Sect, each revering the principles of "Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism." Besides martial arts, they also taught philosophy. The spirit of these three sects was somewhat about "saving people," so they had many disciples and didn't care much about their aptitude. Anyway, the three sects were all deeply rooted, with a variety of martial arts. Disciples with low aptitude would practice some basic skills, while those with high aptitude would practice more advanced ones. There was no shortage of martial arts secrets. Take the Shaolin Seventy-Two Supreme Skills, for example. It was good enough if a person could master one skill in their lifetime. Since ancient times, only Bodhidharma had mastered all seventy-two skills. No one would compare themselves to such a divine being.

The last of the Four Clans were considered to be at the bottom of the first-rate sects. However, the Wuji Grand Art of the Wuji Clan, the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art of the Vajra Clan, the Dangtian Blade Technique of the Justice Clan, and the poisonous skills of the Tang Clan were all unique and had their own strengths. In certain situations, even the martial arts of Wanxia Manor or Bafang Manor might not be their match.

For example, the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art, quoting the setting of Jin Yong's "The Return of the Condor Heroes"—"It is the supreme Dharma-protecting divine skill of the Secret Sect, divided into thirteen levels. The first level is very easy, and even the most foolish person can master it in one or two years after being taught. The second level is twice as deep as the first, requiring three or four years. The third level is twice as deep as the second, requiring seven or eight years. It increases exponentially, becoming more difficult as one progresses. After the fifth level, it often takes more than thirty years of hard work to deepen another level."

Theoretically, even a person with mediocre aptitude could gradually reach the thirteenth level as long as they followed the steps. Of course, that person would need a lifespan of over three hundred years…

In reality… since ancient times, only the unparalleled genius like the Golden Wheel Monk, who diligently cultivated and progressed rapidly, had reached the tenth level in his lifetime. According to the [Dragon Elephant Prajna Sutra], each palm strike at this point possessed the strength of ten dragons and ten elephants.

So, the strength of martial arts was hard to say. Some martial arts could be quickly mastered to a certain level by cutting off a certain organ, while others, no matter how long they were practiced, would not be very powerful without enough talent.

The above is a rough overview of the situation of the first-rate sects.

As for the Beggars' Sect… in this world, they could only be considered the leader of the second-rate sects. Meng Jiu, at his age, had a high seniority, but his skill… was probably similar to Ye Hai. There was no point in comparing him to Ye Cheng or the two manor lords. Even against the leaders of the Three Sects and Four Clans, Meng Jiu wouldn't dare say he had any chance of winning. And the strength of the elders and core disciples of the Beggars' Sect was also different from the masters of the first-rate sects.

Some might ask, doesn't the number one sect in the world also have unique skills like the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms? That's right, Meng Jiu had also learned the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, but not everyone could master it to Xiao Feng's level. In the end, it was still a matter of the person. If Xiao Feng had practiced Prajna Palm since childhood and lived to be sixty years old, he could probably turn all the Beggars' Sect leaders in history to dust with one palm.

Then there were the other second-tier sects, such as Diancang, Emei, Huashan, and Kongtong… In recent years, no particularly outstanding talents had emerged. They had a bit of a "decline in inheritance, inheritance in decline" vibe.

The rest were third-tier and unranked sects, such as the Giant Whale Sect, the Qinghai Sword Gate, or organizations like xx Escort Agency. You could say these guys were martial artists, or you could say they were private salt smugglers, farmers, and security companies… In terms of martial arts, their leaders might only be considered average, but the Cangling Sword Debate was world-renowned, so these guys naturally had to join in, as if participating in this event would raise their sect's status. In the future, they could brag to others: "Back then, when Ye Cheng and Xie San dueled in Cangling Town, I was right there…"

As for those unaffiliated mercenaries, there weren't many of them. Only seventeen or eighteen masters had successfully entered the town by taking small paths so far. Those who entered by the main roads were all grandmasters who had good relations with the major sects and were well-known, numbering only thirty or so.

By August 13th, the inn was full of the leaders and disciples of the ten sects. Only a few lone travelers who had arrived early and had high status and martial arts skills were able to secure some rooms in the inn.

People from the second- and third-tier sects and other martial artists who arrived in twos and threes were staying in the abandoned houses around the inn. Now, the houses in the vicinity, as long as a bamboo branch was inserted in front of the door, indicated that it had been occupied. If not, feel free to take it. Anyway, this town was in a three-way zone, and things that everyone slightly agreed on became the rules.

In summary, the current situation in Cangling Town was basically like this.

However, the two main characters of the duel, Ye Cheng and Xie San, had not yet appeared in town.

…………

The autumn sky is clear and cold, the distant mountains are in sight.

The autumn morning in the mountain town did indeed give a very refreshing feeling.

Every morning, the sect leaders (including those staying outside the inn) would bring one or two trusted disciples to find a table on the first floor of the inn to drink tea and eat. They would inevitably chat a few words with each other, seemingly polite, but actually probing each other.

And the most discussed topic today was naturally the death of Wang Ao, a disciple of Wanxia Manor…

"Manor Lord Gongsun, you and your disciples made a big commotion before dawn. What was all the fuss about?" The one who asked this was a fat, greasy-faced monk. Early in the morning, he was holding a wine jar, not sitting at the table, but leaning against the side of the stairs leading to the second floor of the inn, sitting directly on the ground. His face was crimson, his expression slightly tipsy, his kasaya was open, and a string of prayer beads hung around his neck, each bead the size of a fist.

This monk was called Lushan. Although he was a Buddhist disciple, Lushan was clearly not from Shaolin. No one knew which wild temple this drunken monk came from, nor where he learned a rather profound set of fist techniques—Drunken Arhat. He had made a name for himself in the martial world. Over the past decade, he had traveled the martial world, done many righteous deeds, and could be considered a hero.

"Hmph… Monk Lu, could it be that you're drunk and misheard?" Gongsun Qian snorted coldly, putting on airs, neither admitting nor denying.

Everyone in the martial world knew about the drunken monk Lushan's ability to pretend to be confused when he understood. Things that ordinary people couldn't say, Lushan would say them if he wanted to, anyway, as long as he put on that drunken look, he wouldn't be afraid of offending people. If the other party was really angry, the monk would say he was drunk and talking nonsense, apologize, and both sides could step down.

"Oh? Could it be that I'm dreaming? That's not right… I seem to smell blood in my dream?" Lushan asked again, pretending.

"Perhaps your monk's nose has been damaged by alcohol?" Shi Yanran, who was sitting next to Gongsun Qian, turned her head when she heard this and retorted unhappily.

"Manor Lord Gongsun, I also heard the commotion," a tall, thin man in his forties interjected with a smile. "Did you take your disciples up the mountain to hunt game in the middle of the night? Hehe… The stuff you hunted has a very strong smell!"

This man was Ji Tong, the manor lord of Bafang Manor. He had a long-standing feud with Gongsun Qian, so it was normal for him to make veiled taunts and barbed remarks at this time.

Gongsun Qian had not buried Wang Ao's body last night, but had ordered his disciples to wrap it in straw mats and bring it back to the inn. The corpse was currently placed in one of their rooms, guarded by two disciples. As for the smell… he had treated it with special drugs, which could temporarily suppress the stench for a day and a night.

"Hehehe… Manor Lord Ji's nose is really sharp," Gongsun Qian said, sarcastically cursing while laughing.

Gongsun Li, Shi Yanran, and the other two disciples beside him all laughed cooperatively, as if what he said was very funny.

"Hmph!" Ji Tong slammed the table. "If you don't wipe your butt clean, are you going to use your mouth to fart?"

"What did you say!"

"Hahaha…" Ji Tong also laughed loudly. "Manor Lord Gongsun, you didn't bury your disciple because you haven't found the murderer, right? Hehe… I, Ji Tong, can be considered a knowledgeable person. Why don't you let me take a look at the body, so you can find your enemy?"

"Hmph… I appreciate Manor Lord Ji's kindness," Gongsun Qian said coldly. "I wasn't born yesterday. I don't need you to do it!"

The two of them exchanged sharp words, while the other sect leaders and martial artists around them watched the show in silence.

Just then, a few figures appeared at the entrance of the inn. It turned out to be Feng Bujue and his teammates, walking in through the main entrance…