knife

Chapter 659: An invitation is worse than a chance encounter
The carriage door opened, and an elderly man with white hair poked his head out, followed by two canes. With two tinkling sounds, the man inside, supported by the driver, got off the carriage and, leaning on his canes, walked step by step towards the teahouse.

Seeing that another customer had arrived, the old man selling tea quickly lifted the curtain even higher.

The old man with the cane walked into the simple tea stall with a tinkling sound. He glanced at Jiang Chong, but smiled and walked straight towards him.

"Old man, bring me a pot of tea, and whatever you have to eat or drink, feel free to pick up whatever you like!" the man supporting him said to the old tea seller.

The old man glanced fearfully at the tall, muscular man with a knife at his waist and whispered, "We have hot tea, but not much to eat, just some steamed buns and stuff!"

"Then forget it!" The burly man with the knife waved his hand.

Jiang Chong coldly watched as the old man with the cane sat down opposite him. "Sect Leader Hu, you already have one foot in the grave, yet you braved the wind and snow to come down the mountain. Aren't you afraid of dying out there? Cough cough!"

Hu Tianying looked at Jiang Chong with a smile: "Patriarch Jiang, you're not much younger than me, are you? Look at your cough, your dantian is damaged, you need to take good care of yourself. You're always running around outside, using your strength recklessly, it's easy to leave hidden dangers! I don't care, I won't live for many more years anyway, dying sooner or later is the same as dying. But you're different, if you take good care of yourself, living for several more decades is easy!"

Jiang Chong's face was gloomy.

He knew he needed to rest, but circumstances were beyond his control. The Jiang family was different from the Five Tigers Breaking the Gate Blade; they produced many talented people. Kang Zhen, who was now in Yong'an County commanding tens of thousands of troops, was only in his thirties but had already reached the peak of the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan. The man supporting Hu Tianying was named Wang Li, who was in his early fifties and was also at the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan.

Even if Hu Tianying were to kick the bucket right away, these people could still keep the Five Tigers Breaking the Gate of the Sword Sect afloat. But what about the Jiang family?

They couldn't find a single person who could take over the reins after them.

If I were to die, the Jiang family would likely be devoured alive by other forces.

Look at the Xiang family now.
A family with a thousand-year history!
When Xiang Ying was in power, he was arrogant and domineering, surrounded by flowers and brocade.
As soon as Xiang Ying died, he immediately became easy prey in the eyes of others.

Jiang Chong felt a deep sense of kinship, and he certainly didn't want the tragedy that was unfolding in the Xiang family to be repeated in his own.

"For so many years, the Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber Sect has only focused on teaching martial arts, remaining detached from worldly affairs. Whatever choices its disciples make, the sect has no say in the matter. This tradition has lasted for hundreds of years, and it's the reason why the Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber Sect has been able to thrive for so long!" Jiang Chong was focused on baking steamed buns, but his eyes were fixed on Hu Tianying as he slowly said, "Sect Leader Hu, some things, once you take the first step, you can't go back! Reputation is extremely difficult to build, but destroying it is only a matter of a single thought!"

Hu Tianying smiled and stretched out his legs, massaging them vigorously, saying, "Patriarch Jiang, I am not long for this world. I just wanted to take advantage of my remaining life to come out and have a look around. What, according to Patriarch Jiang, I can only rot and die on the mountain?"

"A chance encounter?"

“Of course!” Hu Tianying said with a smile.

"So if I do anything later, Sect Leader Hu will definitely not interfere!" Jiang Chong said.

Hu Tianying blinked and looked at the other party, saying, "What kind of heinous thing is Patriarch Jiang going to do this time? This won't do. My Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber always puts chivalry first. If we don't run into them, fine, but if we do, we have to do something about it!"

Jiang Chong took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the anger in his heart.

Hu Tianying is clearly here to cause trouble.

The sound of horses' hooves could be heard outside again.

"Brother, have some hot tea before you go!" A rough voice came from outside. "The brothers are all freezing!"

"Okay, let's take a break and catch our breath!"

The sound of horses' hooves stopped outside, and then the curtain was lifted, revealing a burly man in the doorway.

Jiang Chong and Hu Tianying were both sitting by the fire pit not far from the door, and could be seen clearly as soon as one entered. The man's gaze swept over them and naturally spotted the two men as well.

He froze in place for a moment.

He recognized all the people in the tea stall.

Jiang Chong was a famous person.

Hu Tianying is also very famous.

They certainly wouldn't appear here for no reason.

In an instant, the man's forehead was covered with beads of sweat the size of beans, which fell to the ground one by one with a pattering sound.

"Ah Yuan, what's wrong?"

A voice came from behind, and then another person appeared at the door.

Ah Yuan slowly and laboriously turned his head, looking at Xiang Zhuang who was still tying up his horse outside, and said in a hoarse voice, "Brother, hurry! Hurry!"

Although the fear on his face was undeniable, the man named A Yuan still gripped the hilt of the knife with trembling hands, then drew the knife and stood across the doorway, completely blocking it.

Jiang Chong ignored the man and instead picked up his teacup, extending it to Hu Tianying: "It's been a long time since I've had wine with Sect Leader Hu. Since we met by chance, I'll offer you a bowl of tea instead of wine!"

"Thank you, thank you!" Hu Tianying smiled and picked up his teacup as well, the two teacups gently clinking together.

Wang Li subconsciously took a step back.

The tea in the two bowls moved on its own without any wind, creating ripples that spread outwards.

Jiang Chong suddenly looked up, staring at Hu Tianying with disbelief. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "How did you manage to take this step?"

Hu Tianying shook his head and said, "I was still half a step short. It was your injuries that caused you to retreat half a step, which is why it looked like we were evenly matched. But for today, that's enough!"

Jiang Chong slowly put away his teacup and pondered, "It seems enough, but it's not enough if we really have to fight. Sect Leader Hu, do you really want to stop us?"

“If it were just me alone, it wouldn’t be enough, but now you are outnumbered and outmatched. I, Wang Li, am more than enough to deal with you. Of course, if someone else is willing to stand up for what’s right and can’t stand you bullying a disabled old man like me, and comes to your aid, then you’ll have a hard time getting away unscathed today.”

Jiang Chong turned to look outside the door, where Xiang Zhuang's face appeared.

Surprise, anger, and fear flashed across Xiang Zhuang's face as he reached out and pushed aside the man at the door, taking a step inside.

Wang Li took two steps toward the door, looked at Xiang Zhuang and shouted, "Hey you, can't you see our sect leader is having a small gathering with his friends here? You have no sense of propriety! Get out of here, don't spoil our sect leader's enjoyment!"

Xiang Zhuang gave Wang Li a deep look, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply, then turned and left.

The sound of horses' hooves sounded again outside the door, gradually fading into the distance.

(End of this chapter)