Catching Monsters

Chapter 679 Sword God Hua Jingxing

Outside the gates of the Jiang residence, Qin Shujian arrived at Jiang Yun's residence immediately after meeting Qu Wushang.

"Young Master Qin is back." Yun Pingchuan, who was waiting at the door, smiled when he saw Qin Shujian and hurriedly invited him into the house: "Young Master Qin, please come in. I will go and inform the master right away."

Jiang Yun was currently in his study, meditating peacefully. He was unable to summon any experts from the Tongyou Guard, and could only let the situation be as it was.

Even a top-tier swordsman like Long Qixing is not someone I can truly defeat.

Soon, footsteps came from outside the door, along with Yun Pingchuan's voice: "Master, Master, Young Master Qin is back."

Jiang Yun opened her eyes, stepped forward and pushed open the door, and saw Qin Shujian, who looked travel-worn.

Qin Shujian hurriedly knelt down: "Master, your disciple has been away training for a long time and has not been able to be by your side to fulfill his filial duties."

"Alright." Jiang Yun stepped forward and helped Qin Shujian up. "Get up. Have you gone to see Senior Qu yet?"

"I met him." Qin Shujian nodded, then said, "Master Qu imparted all his insights into swordsmanship to me, and also said something that I didn't quite understand."

“Let’s go inside and talk. That’s what he said.”

After entering the house, Qin Shujian relayed Qu Wushang's words. Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun's eyebrows furrowed slightly: "He's been running away for twenty years?"

"What do you mean?"

Jiang Yun was also somewhat puzzled by this.

Qin Shujian said in a deep voice, "Master, is there any way to save Master Qu? I think Master Qu seems to be contemplating suicide, which is not good."

Jiang Yun shook his head helplessly and said, "We can only take it one step at a time."

"Yes."

Suddenly, many martial arts practitioners arrived in the capital. Restaurants and taverns were packed to capacity, and tickets to watch the training grounds were extremely difficult to obtain on the black market.

If it were anyone else dueling, people in the martial arts world wouldn't even bother buying tickets; they'd probably just fly in using their lightness skills.

But this time it's different; this time it's organized by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

If they want to get in, they have no choice but to buy tickets.

The security situation in Beijing has also deteriorated rapidly, with several incidents of fighting over ticket purchases.

These matters also caused the Embroidered Uniform Guard a great deal of trouble. There was nothing they could do; the constables of the Capital Prefecture had no ability to deal with these江湖人 (jianghu people, people from the martial arts world).

When these people from the martial arts world gather together, nothing good ever comes of it. They're all mingling in the martial arts world, and they all have their share of enemies.

Enemies meeting are bound to be extremely hostile and prone to a fierce fight.

The prisons of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are almost overflowing with people lately.

……

Xu Xiaogang had nothing to do today, so he took two servants for a stroll around the capital. Every now and then, they could see the Imperial Guards chasing after martial arts practitioners, leaping across rooftops and scaling walls.

"There's some truth to the imperial court's ban on martial arts," Xu Xiaogang remarked, watching the martial arts practitioners fleeing swiftly from the rooftop.

The servant beside him whispered, "The capital has been quite chaotic these past couple of days. These martial arts practitioners are like country bumpkins, they don't know any manners at all."

"Looting occurs frequently."

Xu Xiaogang opened his folding fan but did not comment on the servant's words. Unexpectedly, several martial artists who were resting on the ground heard the servant's words and stood up.

"What are you talking about? We came here for the duel between two sword gods, do you think we're beggars?"

These people look like homeless people sleeping on the streets.

There was no way around it; the restaurants in the capital were packed, and prices had skyrocketed.

These men stepped forward and blocked Xu Xiaogang and his group. They were all eager to fight. Judging from Xu Xiaogang's attire, he was also a rich young master.

"You have humiliated us brothers today. No matter how much we plead, you should give us twenty taels of silver."

"Want some gold?" Xu Xiaogang smiled faintly and casually tossed out a gold ingot.

Unexpectedly, these people suddenly attacked, snatched the gold from his hand, and ran away.

"No... why don't you ask me who I am?" Xu Xiaogang was stunned; he was just about to show off his abilities in front of everyone.

Normally, if someone is dressed in fine clothes and can casually pull out a piece of gold, they must be someone of high status. You would all ask about their own status, wouldn't you?

Then he slowly uttered five words: "I am the Duke of Zhenguo."

The other party was so frightened that they backed away.

This is a more logical plot.

Did they just grab it and run away?
Back then, I was a novice and couldn't show off my skills in front of others, so it was fine!
Now that I've become a Duke and am leading troops to eliminate the rebels in the southwest, can't I at least show off a little?
Seeing that the group of people had almost disappeared from sight, Xu Xiaogang turned to his two servants and said, "What are you looking at? Chase after them!"

Xu Xiaogang, accompanied by two servants, chased after him for two whole streets, but the man simply vanished without a trace.

The servant, panting, said, "Your Highness, I knew these people were just country bumpkins, they had no manners..."

"If you dare to rob even me, is there no law left?"

"Shut up, no one is allowed to tell anyone about this." Xu Xiaogang turned around and reminded his two servants. If this got out, he would lose all face.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, another woman's scolding came from the shop next door.

"What are you doing!"

"Haha, young lady, my fifth brother is a renowned expert. He admires you and would like to invite you to a meal. Is that too much to ask?"

"Let me go," the woman said. "Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Xu Xiaogang looked over and saw a woman dressed simply but with stunning beauty standing in front of the counter in a cosmetics shop next door.

Outside the counter, three burly thugs were standing.

"Hahaha, Fifth Brother, this young lady says she's not going to be polite to us." The other two laughed loudly at the one called Fifth Brother.

This fifth brother looked to be in his forties, with a strong build, and reached out to hook the woman's chin.

Unexpectedly, the woman suddenly picked up the rouge from the counter and threw it at Fifth Brother's eyes.

After scattering the saliva, he turned over and kicked the man hard in the chest.

Fifth Brother was kicked and staggered back several steps.

He quickly rubbed his eyes and shouted to his companions, "What are you all looking at? Get him!"

Just as the two were about to make a move, a folding fan suddenly flew in, startling them into retreating.

"Gentlemen, isn't it inappropriate to bully a young lady like this?" Xu Xiaogang walked slowly into the room with his hands behind his back.

"Who goes there?" Fifth Brother squinted and asked loudly.

Xu Xiaogang breathed a slight sigh of relief; he could finally ask the question.

"The Duke of Zhenguo, Xu Xiaogang," Xu Xiaogang said slowly.

Upon hearing these six words, Fifth Brother burst into laughter: "With your looks, you dare to call yourself the Duke of Zhenguo?"

"The Duke of Zhenguo, Xu Xiaogang, is a peerless hero who led hundreds of thousands of troops to fight in the southwest. When I was wandering around the southwest, I passed by the general's mansion and saw him from afar."

Xu Xiaogang: "..."

"Someone, go get him some water so he can wash his eyes and see clearly before he speaks."

Soon, the servant brought out some clean water and handed it to the other person.

After washing his eyes, the man looked closely.

"Well, did you see it clearly?" Xu Xiaogang asked with a faint smile.

"Fifth Brother, how is it? Is he the Duke of Zhenguo?" The other two also asked Fifth Brother in a low voice.

This Fifth Brother has never met Xu Xiaogang; he's just bragging.

"Charge! Beat them first!" Fifth Brother cursed. "The Duke of Zhenguo is leading troops in the southwest, how could he be in the capital? This kid is trying to fool us."

Seeing that this group was about to attack him, Xu Xiaogang felt a bit amused and exasperated. Just then, Qi Da happened to pass by outside the door with more than ten Imperial Guards.

"Be bold!"

"Dare to attack the Duke of Zhenguo?"

In an instant, more than a dozen Imperial Guards rushed into the room and subdued the three men.

"Lord of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, we are innocent! We are innocent! We only harassed the women from the bride's family and did nothing else. According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, at most we should be imprisoned for a year."

Zidane frowned, stepped forward, and kicked the man: "You think you know a lot about the law? Do you even know what the consequences are for attacking the Duke of Zhenguo?"

"Take it back first."

"Yes."

A group of Imperial Guards quickly took the three away.

Zidane didn't have time to catch up with Xu Xiaogang either: "Lord Duke, I have important matters to attend to, so I won't chat with you any longer. The capital is in chaos lately, and the imperial prison is almost overflowing."

Just as Xu Xiaogang was about to leave, Dongfang Yao, who was inside the room, spoke up: "Thank you, young master."

Xu Xiaogang simply smiled at her and quickly left.

Finally, three days later, rows of seats had been set up in the four directions of the North Training Ground in the capital, and admission was by ticket only.

This morning, many people from the martial arts world arrived here with their tickets.

Hundreds of Imperial Guards were stationed around the training ground to prevent these martial arts practitioners from causing trouble.

Jiang Yun also arrived here early in the morning.

The training ground is very large; it could easily seat over a thousand people.

Quite a few people came, and Xu Xiaogang, who loves to join in the fun, naturally arrived early.

There were also many well-known and prominent officials in the capital.

And sword masters from all sides.

At this moment, Qi Da, Dong Qiaofeng, and Xu Xiaogang were all by Jiang Yun's side.

"Xiang Hui, the head of the Xiang family, has arrived."

From afar, Jiang Yun spotted Xiang Hui's figure.

Upon seeing Jiang Yun, Xiang Hui dismounted and expressed his gratitude: "Thank you for the ticket, Lord Jiang."

"You're too kind, Patriarch Xiang," Jiang Yun smiled, then said, "Please come in."

Then, a figure arrived, riding a sword.

"Snow Mountain Sword God, united as one." Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes slightly.

Qi Xinyi, the Snow Mountain Sword God, stepped onto his flying sword and flew into the training ground.

"Brother-in-law, he didn't buy a ticket," Xu Xiaogang said in a low voice.

"Do you think I don't know?" Jiang Yun glared at Qi Da. "Just pretend you didn't see it..."

Xu Xiaogang: "Wouldn't this be inappropriate? Everyone else buys tickets to enter, this..."

Jiang Yun: "I think so too. So the important task of getting the money back from him is entrusted to you, Xiao Gang."

Xu Xiaogang: "..."

No one objected to the long queue of people entering the venue.

Seeing so many experts, Xu Xiaogang was truly amazed. You see, his dream when he was young was not to become a Duke of the State.

Instead, one should become a martial arts practitioner, like these masters.

Soon, Sword God Xie Yifeng also arrived at the scene, but he didn't have a ticket either.

Of course, no one dared to stop him.

However, as he passed by Jiang Yun, he asked with great interest, "Lord Jiang, if Long Qixing is defeated, may I challenge Sword God Qu?"

These words almost made Jiang Yun choke.

What's wrong? You four sword gods, do you want to take turns fighting Qu Wushang one by one?

Jiang Yun smiled awkwardly and said, "Senior Qu only agreed to fight Long Jianshen. If Xie Jianshen wants to challenge him, it depends on whether Senior Qu agrees."

Xie Yifeng's face immediately showed dissatisfaction, and he slowly said, "What's wrong? He's the Sword God, but I'm not? He can use your Embroidered Uniform Guard to threaten Qu Wushang into a duel, so why can't I?"

Jiang Yun: "..."

"Hmph." Xie Yifeng flicked his hand and strode into the venue.

Xu Xiaogang whispered to his brother, "Brother-in-law, why are you Jinyiwei so easy targets? Everyone wants to take advantage of you."

Jiang Yun glared at Xu Xiaogang.

Xu Xiaogang said in a low voice, "I wonder if Hua Jingxing has arrived yet."

The Hua Jingxing mentioned by Xu Xiaogang is the last of the Four Great Sword Gods.

Hua Jingxing is somewhat different from the other three sword gods. He comes from a prestigious family. The Hua family, like the Xiang family, is a long-established and powerful clan.

The other three sword masters are all shrouded in mystery, and there is very little news about them in the martial arts world.

But Hua Jingxing was different; he often acted chivalrously and generously.

His reputation in the martial arts world is mostly excellent.

He could be considered a true master of martial arts.

Suddenly, leaves began to fall from the trees around the drill ground.

In an instant, dozens of flying swords flew out from the distant forest and hovered in mid-air.

Then, a pure white figure suddenly appeared. A handsome man in his thirties flew out of the forest, riding a flying sword.

"Sword God Hua Jingxing has arrived!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, and everyone's eyes turned to look.

Hua Jingxing spun once in mid-air before landing steadily at the gate of the training ground.

Hua Jingxing remained calm and strode into the training ground.

People gradually entered, and Jiang Yun saw that most of the high-ranking officials and nobles had taken their seats.

Then he led Xu Xiaogang inside.

At this moment, the training ground was bustling with activity, filled with the sounds of people talking.

Of course, the main topic of conversation was the battle between Qu Wushang and Long Qixing today, and who would win.

Among the crowd, Xiao Jingzhi was naturally in the best position with a good view. He was dressed in brocade clothes and looked like an ordinary wealthy man.

Those sitting beside him were mostly highly skilled individuals secretly protecting him.

Qin Hong sat right next to him.

"Eunuch Qin, who do you think will win between these two?" Xiao Jingzhi asked, holding a folding fan.

"Qu Wushang." Qin Hong uttered these three words without hesitation.

"Is that so? I've heard that Long Qixing is also a master among masters, one in ten thousand." Xiao Jingzhi said, and couldn't help but sigh, "If all these masters could join the Tongyou Guard, that would be wonderful."

Qin Hong smiled. These people of the martial world just want to live freely. Not all of them are willing to serve the royal family. You can't force them to do this.

Suddenly, the voices in the crowd fell silent.

Because Qu Wushang slowly walked over.

(End of this chapter)