Chapter 382 - 209: Returning to the Gratifying Jianghu of the Past

Chapter 382: Chapter 209: Returning to the Gratifying Jianghu of the Past

The heroines of yesterday, once as beautiful as flowers, were now matrons who still held a certain charm.

The great Knights who once roamed the world, sword in hand, were now uncouth uncles picking at their feet.

Things had changed.

Before Richan Valley, the scene suddenly resembled a large-scale matchmaking event for the middle-aged. Everyone was lost in nostalgic reminiscence. When the aging Knights spoke of settling old scores, they couldn’t help but sit and pick at their feet. And when the matrons spoke of heartfelt passions, their eyes would grow moist as they unconsciously pressed their legs together.

At that moment, an old man in a conical hat let out a sudden grunt. "You cur! Don’t think I can’t see you!"

In an instant, the grunt was like a clap of thunder, exploding in everyone’s ears and leaving them with a dull ringing.

The old man raised his fishing rod high, pointing it toward a certain spot.

SWISH!

In an instant, the matchmaking event fell deathly silent. All eyes followed the tip of the fishing rod.

The end of the rod was pointed at Fan Yao.

"And this is...?"

At that moment, Zheng Xiu was catching up with the now thrice-plump Jianghu Bai Xiaopang. Seeing the sudden confrontation, Zheng Xiu asked calmly.

"Dugu Yibai."

"Dugu? You mean... *the* Dugu?"

"The very same," Jianghu Bai Xiaosheng said with a sigh. "Over a decade ago, Lou Mengkong led the Secret Factory to burn down Hidden Sword Mountain. Hidden Sword Manor, once revered throughout the Jianghu, was reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. The Dugu Family was decimated—its members either dead or scattered. The few who were lucky enough to survive went into hiding, living out their days in obscurity. And this man... he is the one who, in this Fatty’s—Pah!—in *this Bai Xiaosheng’s* first edition of the *Weapon Manual*, was ranked number one: Dugu Yibai, the ’Heartless Sword Heart.’"

"It seemed Jianghu Bai Xiaosheng hadn’t told a story like this in years. He was getting into it, and before Zheng Xiu could ask a question, he was shaking his head with relish and spilling everything he knew. ’But, the story goes, his original name wasn’t Dugu Yibai. It was Dugu Bubai—Dugu the Undefeated. Rumor has it that one year he met someone and lost. Knowing he could never hope to surpass this person, he changed his name to Dugu Yibai—Dugu Once Defeated—and never touched a sword again. He announced his retirement from the Jianghu and went into seclusion on Hidden Sword Mountain.’"

"’Later, when the Secret Factory burned down Hidden Sword Mountain, he still didn’t take up his sword. He just fled.’"

"’Legend says he gave in to his inner demons after that and now drifts between lucidity and madness. I have no idea how, but he somehow ended up joining this westward journey of ours.’"

Fatty Jiang finished his story.

Zheng Xiu’s curiosity was piqued. He couldn’t help but ask, "Who did he lose to?"

"I don’t know," Jianghu Bai Xiaopang sighed. "I really, truly don’t know. It’s probably the greatest unsolved ’secret’ of my entire life, and it’s a genuine shame. A shame! A real shame!"

Zheng Xiu knew that Jianghu Bai Xiaosheng was an oddball who treated ’secrets’ like treasure. To him, a ’secret’ was worth more than gold. This was also the reason he could become *the* Jianghu Bai Xiaosheng.

As the two spoke in hushed tones, all eyes were still fixed on Fan Yao. One by one, the Knights who had retired from the Jianghu began to recognize him.

A decade had passed, but Fan Yao’s appearance had hardly changed—perhaps a result of cultivating the *Yin-Yang Reversal Scripture*. The aging Knights’ faces clouded over, their expressions unreadable, as if remembering old grudges from the Jianghu a decade past.

Fan Yao spread his hands in a gesture of resignation, his expression calm. "After this is all over, whether you want to kill me or carve me up is entirely your decision."

The old man let out a great laugh, and the fine sand at everyone’s feet billowed up in dense waves.

He leaped into the air, whirling the fishing rod in a great circle above him.

"Hah!"

The old man landed and squatted on the ground, chuckling to himself.

As the saying goes, you can tell a master by their first move. The men and women here had all been Knights of considerable standing in the Jianghu, and when the old man made his move, the sharpest among them broke out in a cold sweat. Only then did they belatedly realize that the inconspicuous old fisherman they’d been traveling with was a master in hiding.

’But what move did he even make?’

As the crowd watched in shock and confusion, feathers began to drift down from the sky. Then, dozens of dead vultures rained from above.

"They’re dead! All dead!" the old man cackled, clapping his hands with glee.

Everyone stared, wide-eyed.

Their gazes darted between Fan Yao and the old man.

"Who was that guy again?"

"Lou... Meng-something?"

"Mengkong... who?"

"Lou... something Kong?"

"Lou Meng... what was it?"

"Can’t remember!"

The crowd roared with laughter and playful catcalls.

Just then, a balding, middle-aged man slapped his forehead and chuckled. "This guy... who was he again? The missus back home told me not to go looking for trouble, that I’d better come back alive to warm her side of the bed. Heh! It’s been ten years. It’s better to forget."

"That’s right," another man chimed in. "My old lady didn’t want me to leave either. But when I heard the country was in peril, how could I stay? I just wrote up a divorce letter and left it at home. Figured I’d save her the trouble of becoming a widow! And what do you think happened? She caught up to me halfway here, tore the letter to shreds right in my face, and bawled her eyes out, saying she’d rather die than be a widow. And if I dared to die, she’d dare find another man! These women... give ’em an inch and they’ll walk all over you!" As he spoke, a warm smile spread across his face, lost in the memory.

Zheng Xiu listened from the side, a wave of emotion washing over him as he watched the Knights let go of their past grievances.

’Of course, it wasn’t that they’d completely let it go. It was just that Fan Yao was immensely powerful. If they actually tried to get revenge, it was unlikely any of them would escape unscathed.’

’The real reason they could let it go was simply that they now had people and things far away that they cared about more. It was as simple as that.’

The old man continued to stumble around on the yellow sand, swinging his fishing rod and babbling nonsense.

The crowd quickly backed away, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

Just then, Zheng Xiu’s sharp eyes, honed by several days of inconsistent meals, spotted an opportunity. He pointed at the dead vultures on the ground. "Quick!" he shouted. "We’re short on food in the valley! Let’s get them while they’re still warm! We can’t let this senior’s kind gesture go to waste!"

The Knights scrambled to gather the fresh, warm vulture meat from the ground.