In that case, there was one last option. Perhaps, even if the chance of this was low… Xie San had run into a ghost. The members of the martial world, especially the older generation, believed in the existence of such entities, though it could not be said that they feared the supernatural. The legends of Chang Lin Town had been common knowledge before they arrived. That, combined with the fact that people mysteriously disappeared every night and none of their bodies was found, had sown worry into people’s hearts. But this could not be blamed fully on the ghost in the mountain. After all, she did not go into the town to catch people. Many people were killed after they went into the mountain to deal with the bodies after they committed murder.
This group of people could only blame themselves. If they entered the mountain before sundown and did not head deep into the mountain and found a random swamp area to dump the body, then they would be fine. But the reality was, most of them entered the mountain at midnight and carried the heavy carcasses with them. They purposely trekked deep into the mountain to abandon the body. In that situation, even the carcass they carried was a threat, much less Ling Er. Those who just died still had their resentment and soul about them. The murderer carried their victims into a dark mountain heavy with Yin energy, so it was not strange that their lives were claimed by the lost souls.
In any case, even though we knew from God’s view that Xie San was indeed ambushed, that knowledge was not privy to the people in Chang Lin. They could not have guessed that about Lin Chang, so they could only make blind guesses.
“What do you think Master Xie is playing at? Even though Nameless Blade has been known to keep a low profile, this is too strange…”
“This town itself is strange. Last night, a few disciples from Ju Jing Bang and Hai Sa Pai disappeared, and their bodies have not been found.”
“Eh, have you heard? ’Falling Plum Blade’ Lu Qingning disappeared some time last night before, and no one has seen her.”
“Sigh, I’ve known that since a few days ago. I even heard that of the five that came from Broken Sword Chahitsu yesterday, only Mr. Jin is left. The other four didn’t return last night.”
“By the way, speaking of that, did you hear? I heard from other people that last night, the Tang family’s young master lost to Young Hero Jin.”
“What? ’Swift Fingers’ Tang Size? But the man is quite formidable.”
“I agree, but I hear that he was taught a lesson by Young Hero Jin, and he could only surrender.”
“But wait, why would Young Master Tang get into argument… with that Jin fella?”
“Ha, you need me to spell it out? It’s for a girl.” Then, the speaker filled in the blanks about the gossip surrounding Tang Size.
“Oh, so that’s why,” the one person said with a wicked smile. “But… this Broken Sword Chahitsu sure is something. I wonder what their background is.”
“Didn’t their leader explain it? He studied his kung fu on his own and started his own school.”
“With your years traversing through the martial world, do you believe something like that? At the young age of twenty, he learned kung fu on his own? Do you think he’s the reincarnation of some kind of deity? From how I see it, the kid might have been blessed by a legendary hero, and that is the explanation behind his impressive power.”
“We have long strayed from the topic. We were talking about Master Xie. What do you think about that?”
“What do you mean? I mean… I hate to say it…” They lowered their voice. “The duel is tomorrow, and even Master Ye hasn’t shown up yet. Perhaps…”
With a crash, a large wine barrel was slammed onto the table. Lu San’s large figure appeared next to the wooden table of the few speakers.
“Waiter, there are flies in your inn,” Lu San said. “Let me see, one, two, three, four. Four flies buzzing around. It’s quite annoying.”
As irked as the four were by the mocking comments, there was nothing they could do about it. They put down their cups obediently, left the money on the table, and rushed out of the inn with their tails between their legs. Actually, the four were third rate characters on the martial world. Be it their kung fu or personalities, nothing about them was remarkable. Their favorite activity was gossiping about others and pulling down those who had done better than them in life.
Lu San happened to sit close to them that he overheard everything. He could not stomach them anymore and thus chased them out of the inn. It was one thing for the four to gossip about people way beyond their station, and they went so far as to hint that Ye Cheng would ambush his opponent before the duel. Was that even something a good person would say? Who was Ye Cheng? If the current prominent martial artists wanted to designate a leader, then Ye Cheng could take that position without argument. The Blade God’s reputation was not to be mocked by a few random people. Even an outsider like Lu San got angry from listening to them. If they were overheard by Ye Muhan, swords would be drawn.
“Mr. Monk, don’t be mad. Come and join me for a few cups.” A slightly inebriated young man came to the table and invited Lu San to sit. This was none other than Tang Size. Lu San glanced at the man. The young man was drunk so early in the morning, looking quite defeated.
“Ha… Okay, if it’s to drink, I am always available.” Lu San sat down readily, and a big smile was plain on his face. Even though Lu San’s title was the Drunk Monk, he rarely drank until he was drunk. People like him knew their limits. They knew how much they could handle. If they really could not hold the liquor anymore, alcohol could be forced out of their body through the use of internal energy. But Tang Size was really drunk.
Like they said, drinking one’s sorrows away would not work. Young Master Tang’s self-harming drinking method would solve no problem. Seeing this, the monk tried to advise him.
“You heard what they said, right?” Lu San asked.
“Humph… I did.” Lu Size replied weakly. Between their question and answer, the waiter already came to clean the table and left with the money left by the previous guests. Then he left in a hurry.
“They were not wrong. Young Hero Jin had an impressive mastery of kung fu, and he is a better gentleman than I,” Tang Size said with a bitter smile. “I would have to surrender no matter what.”
Lu San naturally knew about the man’s problem. He shook his head and said, “Amitabha, the problems of this world are none other than women and money. I am afraid I am not able to talk you out of your problem, Young Master Tang.”
“Who needs to hear your lecture? You’re a monk who drinks, and you have the face to say something like that,” Tang Size retorted. “I just think it is too boring to drink alone and wished to find a company. Stop feeding me this nonsense.”
“That is where you’re wrong, Mr. Tang,” a woman said.
Tang Size heard the voice and knew who had spoken. His body froze instantly as his head turned slowly around. It was hard to tell how long Mu Rong Yin had been standing behind him for. In Young Master Tang’s eyes, no matter when he saw this lady, she was always that pretty and elegant, but that at moment, there was another man standing next to her, Jin Fugui!
Is this Jin fella here to show me up? Tang Size thought to himself and instantly pulled his head back, and a cup of wine dropped into his stomach.
“Master Lu is a man of principle and cares about the world. He merely wishes to give you some advice, seeing how you are troubled by it,” Mu Rong Yin said as she took the seat at the table. Atobe followed suit, but he did not sit next to Mu Rong Yin, instead sitting at the other end of the table. Tang Size lifted his eyes to look at Atobe. The latter’s face was filled with smiles. Naturally, this turned into a mocking smirk in Young Master Tang’s eyes.
“Humph… What’s so funny?” Tang Size scoffed toward Atobe.
“Oh, because there is someone called Master Lu in my hometown, hearing another person being referred to by the same name, I find it quite amusing,” Atobe answered honestly. Tang Size did not know how to answer, so he decided to go for another drink.
“Mr. Tang, you seem to have a misunderstanding toward Young Hero Jin,” Mu Rong Yin said again. “That’s why I invited Mr. Jin with me to explain the situation to you.”
“Misunderstanding?” Tang Size said. “What misunderstanding? Humph… I don’t understand.”
It was at this point that Atobe intervened.
“Miss Mu Rong has told me all about you two.” He shrugged. “I was wondering why you were acting out last night, so that was why.
“Mr. Tang, Miss Mu Rong and I are at most acquaintances. Yesterday, I went to her guestroom to ask her about the rules of the martial world. That was my leader’s order. We did not do anything else. Mr. Tang, your jealousy is unfounded.”
After hearing that, Tang Size’s expression shifted several times, and his heart swayed with it. Before he reacted fully, Mu Rong Yin was the next to speak. “Young Hero Jin, there is nothing between me and Mr. Tang… The term that you used… is not that suitable…”
“Fine, you don’t need to explain yourself to me.” Atobe cut her off. “I am here to explain the misunderstanding Mr. Tang has toward me, I am not interested in the things between you two.”
He turned to Tang Size. “I shall leave you with two things to think about. First, if you have time to come pick a fight with me, why don’t you go and ask her directly? Why trust her that little? Secondly, if she is really not that interested in you, would she bring me here just to clarify the situation?”
After saying that, Atobe stood up and left. From the perspective of a youth from the twenty-first century, he felt like this was nothing huge. He had no idea many things were left unsaid in the old age, especially in this kind of public space. His few sentences stunned the remaining three at the table. Lu San instantly stood up with an ’amitabha’ like he was just a passerby that did know the rest of them. He disappeared to the side with a few steps. Mu Rong Yin’s face was red with shyness, and even her ears were red. Without saying anything, she lowered her head and fluttered away.
Tang Size woke up from his drunkenness in a few seconds. His eyes looked blankly ahead. His mind was a mess, and his heart raced; the happiness was clear on his face. But soon, he felt a chill run down his spine, like the entire lobby of people was looking at him.
Actually… it was much better than he thought. The lobby was quite noisy, and not many had heard what Atobe said, only those closer to them. Even so, they would not comment on it and would mostly act like they did not hear him. After all, everyone had their reputation and face to uphold. They would not make a ruckus like a bunch of children.
Tang Size aside, Atobe was also in a conundrum. He had waited for a whole night, and none of his teammates had returned. He had been considering going out to find them when Mu Rong Yin approached him to solve the relationship problem. Now he was walking back to his room, considering what to do next when he heard a system update.
“Current quest completed, main quest updated.”
He opened the menu, and the quest “Enter the Realm of Bell to find Ling Er’s soul” had been completed. A new quest had appeared in its stead. “Defeat the Bell Demon.”