I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 26 Sword Code
At nine o'clock, Chen Ming arrived at the gate of the Huo residence in a carriage, swaying gently.

The carriage was bought for him by his elder brother Chen Rui. It was a very ordinary carriage for transportation, and together with the old horse, it cost about one hundred taels of silver.

Actually, he didn't need a carriage. It was just that his elder brother insisted on buying one, believing that since he was now a person of status, it would be embarrassing for him not to have a carriage when he went out.

Chen Ming didn't refuse. He gave the money to his older brother, and he wouldn't interfere with how his brother spent it.

As soon as he stepped off the carriage, he saw that the gates of the Huo residence were open and the old steward and gatekeeper were waiting at the entrance. He immediately knew that a distinguished guest was coming today.

He usually enters through the side door.

The opening of the main door signifies that distinguished guests are about to arrive.

So he got back into the carriage and said to the driver, "Old Zhang, let's go to the back gate."

"Okay."

Old Zhang, the coachman, turned his horse around and headed towards the back gate.

Before he even left the alley, Chen Ming heard the sound of horses' hooves, about several riders.

He lifted the carriage curtain and peered behind him, where he saw a group of five riders slowly approaching from the other end of the street. There were two women and three men, each with a long sword at their waist, and they looked travel-worn.

The leader was an old woman with gray hair, a weathered face, and piercing eyes. She was clearly a master.

"This must be our distinguished guest who has come to visit?"

Chen Ming thought to himself, and sure enough, he saw the five people stop at the entrance of the Huo residence and say to the old steward who came to greet them, "Take me to see Huo Chengkun."

She was quite impolite from the start, addressing him by his first name.

I have a feeling this person doesn't have good intentions.

Just then, the carriage suddenly turned a corner and entered a narrow alley, and he could no longer see the scene at the entrance.

"Who exactly are those five people?"

He was a little curious.

Chen Ming intended to ask Hong Mingquan, but when he arrived at the training ground, neither Hong Mingquan nor Zhang Mingyu were there. Only a group of students were there to greet him.

……

In Huo Qianqian's courtyard at the Huo residence.

Before dawn, she got up to practice her martial arts. As soon as she stopped, she took a towel from her maid Chunmei and wiped the sweat from her face.

"Miss, the Seventh Young Master is here again," Chunmei whispered.

"Oh."

Huo Qianqian didn't care.

Chunmei mustered her courage and asked, "Miss, are you still angry with him?"

"Chunmei".

Huo Qianqian put the towel back in her hand and said, "You're sixteen this year, I'll let you go back and get married."

"I don't want to get married, I just want to stay with Miss."

"Really don't want to?"

Chunmei turned pale with fright and knelt down with a thud, pleading, "Miss, I'll never do it again. Please don't send me away..."

Huo Qianqian couldn't bear it any longer and said, "Don't say such things in front of me in the future."

As they were talking, she saw her grandfather push open the door and walk in, saying to Chunmei, "Go downstairs."

Chunmei felt as if she had been granted a pardon, and quickly left with her head down.

Huo Chengkun frowned and said, "Qianqian, you need to control your temper in the future..."

Huo Qianqian interrupted him unhappily, "Grandpa, did you come all this way to scold me so early in the morning?"

Feeling helpless, he got down to business, "What about what I told you last night? What have you thought about?"

"what's up?"

"It's about sending you to the Xiaoshui Sect..."

"You mean this? I'm not going. I'm perfectly fine here, why would I go to that damned Xiaoshui Sect and become someone else's disciple?"

Huo Chengkun said, "Grandpa's martial arts are not suitable for you to practice. The Xiaoshui Sect is full of women. Only there can you learn martial arts that are suitable for you. Besides, the Xiaoshui Sect is a prestigious sect. Your grandmother is a disciple of the Xiaoshui Sect. With this relationship, they will naturally protect you."

"I told you, I'm not going."

"This time, you have no choice!"

Huo Chengkun suddenly slammed his hand on the table, cracking the solid wood table with a loud crack, and shouted, "You have to go this time, whether you like it or not!"

Huo Qianqian froze, her face paled, and tears welled up in her eyes. "You yelled at me—"

Huo Chengkun hardened his heart and said sternly, "This time, your second senior sister will escort you. We'll set off immediately. Juan'er, come in." A woman of about thirty years old walked in, dressed in white, with a white flower in her hair, indicating that she had recently lost her husband. It was his second disciple, Du Juan.

"Pack your things now and get out there immediately. Juan'er, you keep an eye on her."

Du Juan replied, "Yes, Master."

Then, Huo Chengkun left.

Du Juan looked at Huo Qianqian expressionlessly, "Junior Sister, please don't make things difficult for me."

Huo Qianqian had a bad feeling and asked anxiously, "Second Senior Sister, has something happened?"

"Nothing."

"Impossible. Something must have happened, otherwise, Grandpa wouldn't treat me like this."

Du Juan paused for a moment, then said, "My aunt has arrived."

Master?

Huo Qianqian was taken aback.

In my memory, many years ago, when she was seven or eight years old, my grandfather's junior sister came to visit once; she was a fierce-looking old woman.

For a long time after that, Grandpa was a little unhappy.

She was too young at the time to know what had happened between them.

"What is she here for?"

"I don't know." Du Juan said seriously, "Junior Sister, I promised Master that I would send you to Xiaoshui Sect. He said that if all else fails, I can knock you out."

……

"master."

As soon as Huo Chengkun stepped out of the courtyard, the old servant hurried over to report, "The person has arrived."

He looked serious and arrived very quickly.

I just received the news yesterday, and I arrived home early this morning.

He didn't even have time to send Qianqian away.

Huo Chengkun said, "Take me there."

The old servant led him to the main hall, where he saw an old woman sitting in the center and a girl in blue standing beside her.

Huo Chengkun laughed, "Eight years have passed, and Junior Sister's charm remains unchanged. This must be Junior Sister's new disciple, right? One can still vaguely see Junior Sister's former elegance; she is far superior to my unworthy disciples."

The old woman sat motionless, not touching the cup of tea in front of her. She stared at him coldly, without saying a word.

Huo Chengkun waved his hand, signaling the old servant to leave.

The girl in blue next to the old woman also left.

Only the two of them, the senior and junior disciples, remained in the main hall.

The old woman finally spoke, "Eight years have passed. Among the disciples my senior brother has taken in, has anyone managed to cultivate the 'Iron Horse Stake' to the fifth level of perfection?"

Huo Chengkun sighed, "Junior sister, you're already seventy-five, why be so fixated on this?"

The old woman said sternly, "You, surnamed Huo, can you forget the hatred of your sect's annihilation and live on like a coward? I will not forget! I live in this world for revenge!"

“If I don’t kill those scoundrels and avenge my father, brothers, husband, and children, I will have lived in vain.”

Her voice was shrill, every word stained with blood and hatred.

Huo Chengkun's face twitched slightly.

How could he not hate?

Almost all of his relatives also died in that disaster.

However, his enemy was far too powerful, so powerful that it was utterly hopeless. He couldn't even defeat one of the enemy's henchmen, and the wounds he suffered years ago had yet to fully heal.

How to get revenge?

"Junior sister..."

The old woman interrupted him before he could finish speaking, "I know you have a precious granddaughter. I won't force you. But you must hand over the sword manual."

"I already told you, the Sword Manual isn't with me..."

"Humph!"

The old woman snorted coldly and said in a chilling voice, "Today, you have to pay whether you want to or not. Otherwise, don't blame me for disregarding our past relationship."

(End of this chapter)