The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 469 Xu Xingchen: I've come here to take care of two things!
The lush green bamboo stalks stand tall and graceful in the valley, forming a bamboo forest.

Thick, tall pine trees stand guard around the valley, as if protecting the valley.

Beneath the oldest, tallest, and most lush pine tree stands a four-pillared, octagonal pavilion.

Inside the pavilion is a square stone table with horizontal and vertical scratches that form a chessboard.

Black and white stones, like morning stars, adorn the board, forming a complex and intricate chessboard where each piece is intertwined with the others.

Dressed in a white robe, with a slender appearance and a beard, Su Xinghe sat at the table, his bright eyes fixed on the chessboard, holding a chess piece in his hand, making a move only after a long while.

Elsewhere in the valley, the disciples of the Deaf-Mute Sect were all busy with their own tasks, remaining completely silent.

When they want to communicate, they use their fingers to gesture.

Not far from the pavilion, several wooden cabins and huts are lined up against the mountainside, clinging tightly to the mountain wall behind them.

During this period, while the north experiences the harsh winter with heavy snowfall, the Jiangnan region, aside from the damp cold that is difficult for most people to endure, still sees flowers blooming, trees remaining evergreen, and the landscape remaining green all year round.

When Xu Xingchen, dressed in a blue cloth robe, led Duan Yu into the valley, it immediately alarmed the disciples of the Deaf-Mute Sect.

Someone strode forward, blocking the two of them, gesturing with their fingers to prevent them from entering.

Someone took out paper and pen from their pocket, quickly wrote a few lines on the paper, and then handed it to Xu Xingchen.

The handwriting above clearly states that this is the location of the Deaf and Mute Sect, and outsiders are not allowed to enter.

Xu Xingchen returned the paper to the deaf-mute disciple, his voice booming like a great bell echoing through the valley: "Xu Xingchen, the master of Xiaoyao Manor, has come to visit Mr. Congbian. I hope Mr. Congbian will be so kind as to grant me an audience."

The deaf-mute disciples blocking the road looked anxious and angry, and their fingers moved even faster.

Su Xinghe, who was sitting in the pavilion pondering the chess game, frowned, looked up at the entrance of the valley, and said softly, "Who on earth dares to name their manor after 'Xiaoyao'? Aren't they afraid that Ding Chunqiu will cause trouble for them?"

Although he was somewhat resentful, his mind was ultimately captivated by the word "carefree." He turned back and looked worriedly at the few wooden cabins standing at the foot of the mountain. After a moment of contemplation, he waved his hand.

A deaf-mute disciple who was serving nearby immediately stepped forward. After clearly seeing his sect leader's order, he immediately turned around and ran towards the entrance of the valley.

Soon.

The disciple then led Xu Xingchen and Duan Yu into the valley and to the pavilion.

Xu Xingchen looked at Su Xinghe, who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, in the pavilion, smiled, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "I am Xu Xingchen, the owner of Xiaoyao Manor outside Suzhou City. I greet Mr. Congbian."

Duan Yu clasped his hands in return and said, "Duan Yu from the Dali Kingdom greets Mr. Congbian."

Su Xinghe stood in the pavilion, scrutinizing the two people below the steps for a long time before saying to Duan Yu, "You are a member of the Dali Duan family."

Duan Yu replied, "That's right."

Su Xinghe nodded, then turned his gaze back to Xu Xingchen, and said with a cold smile, "I have never heard of your name; I know nothing about the Xiaoyao Manor in Suzhou City; may I ask, where does your Xiaoyao Manor come from?"

Xu Xingchen was not angry at Su Xinghe's rudeness. He glanced at the chessboard on the stone table behind him and said calmly, "I am a novice. I like the misty scenery of Suzhou, so I built a villa there. I also want to achieve a state of great freedom and ease, so I named the villa Xiaoyao (逍遥, meaning carefree and unrestrained).

Although Duan Yu didn't know why Xu Xingchen avoided discussing the truth and instead fabricated such a lie, he knew that Xu Xingchen's every action had a deeper meaning, so he waited and saw how things would develop.

Su Xinghe's expression turned somewhat ugly upon hearing Xu Xingchen's words: "Hmph! May I ask which sect or school you belong to? What is your level of martial arts? Are you proficient in poetry, calligraphy, painting, music, divination, medicine, and agriculture?"

Xu Xingchen shook his head and said, "My sect is secret and cannot be revealed casually; as for martial arts, I think I am passable and can barely protect myself in the martial world; as for poetry, calligraphy, painting, music, divination, medicine, and farming, I know none of them."

Su Xinghe was furious: "Your martial arts are no good, and you are not proficient in any other miscellaneous skills. How dare you use the word 'carefree'?"

Xu Xingchen burst into laughter: "Since when did the world forbid the use of the word 'Xiaoyao' to name one's residence? And since when has the word 'Xiaoyao' become the exclusive domain of certain people, prohibiting others from using it as a form of address?"

A powerful aura rose from Su Xinghe, and he said coldly, "So you do know about the Free and Unfettered Sect. You two came prepared this time, didn't you?"

“Indeed, we have come prepared.” Xu Xingchen stepped forward, his own astonishing aura surging into the sky, rivaling Su Xinghe’s powerful aura. He then loudly proclaimed, “We are here on the orders of our benefactor to handle two matters.” “Such profound internal strength.” Su Xinghe’s eyes flashed with lightning-like light as he asked in a deep voice, “Benefactor? Who is your benefactor? Is it that Starry Night Old Monster Ding Chunqiu?”

Xu Xingchen smiled contemptuously: "What is Ding Chunqiu? Does he even deserve to be our benefactor?"

Su Xinghe was shocked to see that this young man, who claimed to be the master of Xiaoyao Manor, dared to insult Ding Chunqiu. He stared at Xu Xingchen again, trying to see what kind of audacity this man had that made him disregard Ding Chunqiu, the number one expert of the evil path.

It should be noted that although Ding Chunqiu is now far away in the Western Regions, the Xingxiu Sect he established has long been a powerful force in the martial arts world. In particular, his self-created Huagong Dafa (Dissolving Power Technique) has made many martial arts practitioners tremble with fear and dread.

There are people in the martial arts world who dare to disregard Ding Chunqiu, but these two in front of us shouldn't be among them!
However, even after looking Xu Xingchen up and down several times, Su Xinghe could not discern anything else besides the unexpectedly strong internal energy emanating from the man.

So he asked, "Since you weren't sent by Ding Chunqiu, how did you manage to find me? Also, what two things do you want to do?"

Xu Xingchen turned to Duan Yu and said, "Brother Duan, do you still remember how you kowtowed a thousand times before the Fairy Sister and obeyed her every command?"

Duan Yu was listening to the two's heated exchange, trying to figure out what his Brother Xu was up to; when he suddenly heard Brother Xu ask him about bowing a thousand times before the Fairy Sister, he immediately blushed and stammered, "Brother Xu, why take that matter so seriously?"

Xu Xingchen gave him a wink: "Brother Duan, putting everything else aside, I only want to ask you, do you still remember the order that Fairy Sister gave you? Now tell me."

Duan Yu exclaimed, glancing at Xu Xingchen's meaningful look, then at Su Xinghe staring at him with icy eyes, and stammered, "The fairy sister ordered me to learn her martial arts and then slaughter all the disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect in the world."

At this point, he quickly waved his hand and explained, "However, Mr. Congbian, please rest assured, I... I will not kill innocent people indiscriminately."

Su Xinghe snorted coldly, his sharp gaze shifting completely from Xu Xingchen to Duan Yu, and asked angrily, "Who exactly is your fairy sister? How dare you boast that you'll kill all the disciples of the Free and Unfettered Sect in the world?"

Duan Yu glanced at Xu Xingchen guiltily, hoping for some instructions, but Xu Xingchen said, "Don't be afraid, Brother Duan, tell Mr. Congbian, who exactly is your fairy sister?"

Seeing Su Xinghe's murderous gaze fixed on him, determined to get a straight answer, Duan Yu inwardly groaned. Seeing Xu Xingchen's equally resolute eyes, he could only helplessly say, "I don't know the Fairy Sister's name. She's a jade statue, but judging from the inscription on the cave wall, her name seems to be... Li Qiushui."

"What? How could this be? This is impossible!" Su Xinghe's expression changed drastically, his eyes became chaotic, and his voice was filled with disbelief: "Impossible, this is absolutely impossible. Uncle-Master Li is a member of the Free and Unfettered Sect, how could he issue such an absurd order?"

Duan Yu's two sentences threw Su Xinghe into a state of utter confusion.

Xu Xingchen said, "I have also received some favors from Young Master Duan and Fairy Sister, so I also intend to help them fulfill their wishes."

"I know the doubts in Mr. Congbian's heart, and I have also guessed a few things. I feel that this matter must be related to Wuyazi, the husband of my benefactor."

"It seems that because our ancestor Wuyazi betrayed his benefactor and abandoned his wife and daughters, the benefactor turned love into hatred and made a will to kill all the disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect."

Upon hearing this, Su Xinghe's face turned pale and then red, his eyes flashing like a kaleidoscope.

This is his master's family matter, involving his master's wife, Aunt Li, and his master and Aunt Li's daughter.

As the saying goes: Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes.

He had absolutely no idea how to deal with this situation.

Moreover, this was the first time he had ever heard that his master actually had a daughter still alive.

Su Xinghe turned his head with some concern to look at the few wooden cabins below the mountain wall. After a long silence, his expression turned serious. He turned back to Xu Xingchen and said coldly, "Putting this matter aside for now, what is the second thing you want to do?"

Xu Xingchen glanced at the chessboard on the stone table behind Su Xinghe and said calmly, "The second thing is naturally to solve the intricate chess puzzle behind you."

Su Xinghe was shocked again. He took a step forward and asked incredulously, "You've seen the Zhenlong Chess Game? You can solve it?"

“We have seen this intricate chess puzzle in our benefactor’s cave. As for how to solve it,” Xu Xingchen turned to Duan Yu again, “my brother here is quite accomplished in Go and should be able to solve the intricate chess puzzle.”

Su Xinghe's eyes shone like two searchlights as he turned to look at Duan Yu, his expression excited: "Can you really solve the Zhenlong Chess Formation?"

"Ah, so the chessboard behind Mr. Congbian is the Zhenlong Chessboard," Duan Yu suddenly realized, then waved his hand and said, "Although I saw the Zhenlong Chessboard in that cave, I've been too busy lately and haven't had the time to calmly ponder how to solve it."

(End of this chapter)