Chapter 95: Life Is Lonely as Snow
“That is Duanmu Qing... to think; she actually materialized her Inherited Martial Spirit. How strong exactly is her opponent?”
“Indeed, despite being thousands of meters away, the pressure of this Martial Spirit, that had existed since the Tianwu Dynasty, is this heavy.”
“Haha! You all probably do no know. From what I heard from the people that came out of the Liushang Pavilion, the person that forced Duanmu Qing to materialize her Martial Spirit is only a Superior Grade Martial Disciple. It seems he is an outsider.
“That’s not possible; Duanmu Qing is a Martial Grand Master. A Superior Grade Martial Disciple is an ant to her. Why did she materialized her Martial Spirit, and probably even used Martial Techniques?”
“His words are absolutely true. I came out of Liushang Pavilion. That person is actually only a Superior Grade Martial Disciple. First, he injured Jiang Muheng, then he snatched away a map of the ancient remains. Finally, he escaped from Duanmu Qing’s pursuit.”
The Ice Phoenix radiated a cold light as it flew to the sky, soaring above the nine heavens. Everyone within White Water City was able to see it clearly. All the cultivators were discussing it.
White Water City, Jiang Residence:
The final disciple of the Misty Sword Sect Leader peered at the Ice Phoenix in the sky. The expression on his face changed slightly as he muttered, “Who is it? To actually be able to force Duanmu Qing to materialize her Martial Spirit?”
Just as he finished speaking, a sword made of light appeared below his feet and brought him to the sky. He became a shadow as he rushed off in the direction of Duanmu Qing; soon he vanished into the sky.
In another room within the Jiang Residence, the Hua Clan’s successor, Hua Yunfei, revealed a playful smile when he saw Duanmu Qing in the sky. After Chu Chaoyun flew off, he said, “Interesting, I want to see who it is that managed to attract the attention of these two geniuses of Dongming Province.”
Within the room, a few Hua Clan elders advised, “Successor, our purpose in coming here this time is only for the remains of the ancient people. It is best that there are no complications.”
Hua Yunfei smiled indifferently, and said in an arrogant manner, “It is rare for a mutated Martial Spirit to appear in our Hua Clan. It is destined for our Clan to rise up; no one can stop us. So, what if there are some small complications? Don’t follow me.”
Just as he said this, he became a red river and flowed towards the sky. It seemed like a blood cloud covered the places that he went. The sky was hidden, creating an ominous feeling.
Within the room of the Duanmu Clan in the Jiang Clan, a pretty girl looked at Duanmu Qing and asked worriedly, “Second Elder, is Miss Duanmu in danger? Should we be assisting her?”
The incomparably graceful and luxuriously dressed Second Elder looked very calm as he spoke gently, “There is no need. if she cannot deal with this little problem, how is she going to rule our Duanmu Clan?”
At the same time, the Jiang Clan Head, Jiang Mingxun, was rapidly making arrangements within the great hall of the Jiang Clan.
“Second Elder, immediately set out on a journey and receive the important guest from Nanling Province. Whether our Jiang Clan can gain an opportunity will depend on this guest.”
“Third Elder, go to Liushang Pavilion and bring that trash, Jiang Muheng, back. Throw him into isolation for a month.”
Due to Xiao Chen’s saber strike, there were surging undercurrents in White Water City; there was a drastic change in the situation.
However, regardless of how shocking the situation was or whether the situation changed drastically, Fatty Jin’s currently felt persistent grief. This was a grief that belonged only to him, repeatedly dampening his spirits.
“Young Master, please stop standing. You have been standing for an hour already. If you keep standing, you will fall sick,” a manservant consoled the grieving Jin Dabao in the midst of the rubble of Liushang Pavilion.
Although Liushang Pavilion had completely collapsed, there were no major injuries or deaths. The guests from the first and second floors had fled long before the explosion happened. The cultivators on the third and fourth floors had considerably higher cultivations and were able to jump to safety in an instant.
The waiters and menservants in the pavilion were all very astute. When there were signs of trouble, they all ran out and only appeared again after things were settled.
“Ah…”
Just as the fatty was about to lecture him, a tiny moan sounded out. Jin Dabao quickly reacted and looked towards the origin of the sound.
Pulling aside a few heavy wooden boards, Jin Dabao saw a severely injured Jiang Muheng. Xiao Chen made a deep cut on his chest. It was even possible to see the internal organs in his chest cavity. At the moment, his wounds have not healed; blood was still flowing out slowly.
The collapse of Liushang Pavilion, combined with the fact that he was already severely injured, meant Jiang Muheng was on his final breaths. He could not stop moaning and looked extremely pitiful. He no longer had the elegance he had before.
The moment Fatty Jin saw this, his grief vanished and he said to Jiang Muheng, with a smile filling his face, “Isn’t this Young Master Jiang; why are you in such a state?”
Jiang Muheng’s face was pale, he was extremely weak, and his voice was very soft as he muttered intermittently, “Save… me…”
Jin Dabao cupped his ears and leaned forward, saying in a loud voice, “Young Master Jiang, can you speak louder? Oh, I heard it. Save you? No problem.”
Jin Dabao had a gleeful look on his face as he took out a porcelain bottle and jiggled it in front of Jiang Muheng, “Young Master Jiang, can you see this? This is a peak grade Golden Salve; refined by a Rank 7 Alchemist. All you have to do is to scatter this on your wounds. No matter what kind of wound, it will be able to heal it.”
“Furthermore, this medicine does not have any side effects; it will not leave behind any scars. It is absolutely the best choice for an elegant young master like you,” Fatty Jin spoke in a manner that was filled with temptation as he extended out the bottle to the front of Jiang Muheng.
Jiang Muheng’s expression revealed joy as he extended out his left hand with difficulty. He wanted to take the porcelain bottle but Fatty Jin quickly pulled his hand back.
The joy on Jiang Muheng’s face vanished. He looked at Jin Dabao, his gaze filled with doubt. He did not know what was going on.
Jin Dabao’s face made it seemed he was in a difficult position, “Young Master Jiang, the moment I met you, I felt that we have been brought together by fate. Normally, I would just give this Golden Salve away and would not even complain about it. However, as you can see, this Liushang Pavilion turned into a pile of rubble because of you.”
“You have cut off the path of fortune for this fatty. I am now extremely broke. Doesn’t your Jiang Clan own a street for commerce west of the city? Let me have it, so I can reopen Liushang Pavilion. What do you think? All I need is a word from you, and you can have this peak grade Golden Salve. I’ll even apply it for you, personally.”
This fatty was truly shameless. His Liushang Pavilion was merely just a restaurant. Its profits over the period of one year in White Water City would be at most 5,000,000 taels of silver.
However, the commerce street of the Jiang Clan had countless business there. Just the rent received alone was 20,000,000 taels of silver. Fatty Jin spoke as though the Jiang Clan was gaining in this transaction.
Jiang Muheng’s lips moved; his voice was very weak. Jin Dabao cupped his ears again and leaned forward as he said, “Young Master Jiang, please speak loudly; I can’t hear you. What did you say? Screw… your… mother…?”
“Damn it!” After the fatty heard this, his smile immediately vanished. He had a wooden expression as he said, “This fatty is being kind hearted and wanted to save your life. All I wanted was a street and yet you cursed me like that. This fatty is very upset.”
“Getting snubbed despite showing good intentions really feels horrible. Let’s go. With this fatty blocking the way, let's see who dares come over. Even if the Jiang Clan’s people arrive, they won’t be able to take you away.”
Just as the fatty got up and took a step, his pant leg was snagged by a hand. Jin Dabao had long anticipated Jiang Muheng would not give up so simply.
He hurriedly put on a smile and turned around, “Young master Jiang, did you change your mind? Your voice is too soft. I’m listening but don’t you curse at me again. Or else, this fatty will get angry.”
“That… What’s your name…? Come quickly and crouch down over here so I can use you as a table. Young Master Jiang has agreed already.”
In an instant, brush and paper appeared in the fatty’s hands. A manservant crouched on the floor as he sucked on the brush as though he was very learned. Then, he dipped the brush in ink and started to scribble wildly.
[TL note: Scribble wildly, 狂草: This is an excessively free cursive style in Chinese calligraphy.}
After he drew up the contract, he placed it under Jiang Muheng’s hand and smiled, “Young Master Jiang, please imprint your handprint and signed it. What nice handwriting… even though Young Master Jiang is so injured, your penmanship is still excellent. You are the perfect model of someone from a noble clan.”
When Jiang Muheng signed the contract, the fatty immediately rolled it up and took out the peak grade Golden Salve. He slowly scattered it on Jiang Muheng’s wounds.
The pained expression on Jiang Muheng’s face slowly faded. As he was seriously hurt, the moment he relaxed, he fainted.
“Hahaha! How great! I lost a gold mine only to gain a treasure mountain!” Fatty Jin laughed maniacally as he held the contract.
The manservant at the side saw that Fatty Jin had truly applied the peak grade Golden Salve on Jiang Muheng. He did not understand and asked, “Young Master, did you really apply the peak grade Golden Salve made by a Rank Seven Alchemist?”
“Yes, is there a problem?”
That manservant said with a tone of doubt, “This is not your usual style. I thought Young Master would just simply use a Rank 3 medicine, skimping on the materials.”
Fatty Jin put aside the contract and he took out his gold folding fan, hitting the manservant’s head ruthlessly. He laughed loudly, “What do you know? How many foolish and rash people, like Jiang Muheng, do you think there are in the Great Qin Nation? Don’t the Jiang Clan still have three more streets?”
“This fatty will treat him now, and the next time I can go to him and cheat him out of another street. This small amount of money is nothing.”
The manservant spoke in awe, “Young Master is truly wise! This is throwing a line to catch a big fish, right? Why did I not think of that?”
[TL note: Throwing a line to catch a big fish. This means adopting a long term plan to secure something big.]
“Don’t ask any more of these kinds of stupid business questions,” the fatty commanded a pretentious manner.
After he said this, he opened his gold folding fan and fanned himself vigorously. He inclined his head upward by 45 degrees and looked at the clouds floating above. He sighed in sorrow, “Sometimes, having such a high intelligence is such a bane! Who in the world can understand me… life is truly as lonely as snow!”
“Wa!” Just as Fatty Jin finished his words, all the waiters and manservant at the rubble of Liushang Pavilion could not help but vomit.